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Published : 22 Apr 2026, 03:40 PM
The government will provide free uniforms and schoolbags made of jute to primary-level students in every Upazila from July in a move aimed at supporting the jute industry and reducing environmental pollution, two officials said.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman announced the decision at a meeting on the distribution of the schoolbags at his office in the Secretariat on Wednesday, Additional Press Secretary Atiqur Rahman Rumon told reporters.
The prime minister met officials from the ministries of primary and mass education, textiles and jute, and local government, and decided to launch the project on an experimental basis.
“This programme aims to protect the domestic jute industry and help the country reduce environmental pollution,” Rumon said.
Mahdi Amin, the prime minister’s education adviser, said distribution would begin in July at two schools in each upazila selected by the local administration.
“In the first month, 100,000 students at primary schools will be given free schoolbags and uniforms,” he said, adding that all primary school students would gradually be brought under the scheme.
Mahdi said the initiative was intended to encourage the use of “Made in Bangladesh” products at the prime minister’s direction.
According to him, the project will help spread the message of equality and fairness among students while also boosting the domestic jute industry.
“It will play a role in reducing the gap between rich and poor,” he said.
Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Mir Shahe Alam said the three ministries would coordinate the project and bear its costs.
State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam said the government’s main goal was to revive the lost tradition of the jute industry.
“The project to provide environmentally friendly products aims to reduce reliance on polythene,” he said.
