No scholarships for primary students without 85% attendance

Primary school students will be selected for a new round of scholarships in January

Primary school students who do not have an attendance rate of 85 percent per month will not receive scholarships. To obtain the scholarship, students from grades four to eight in government primary schools, PTI-affiliated test schools, and primary schools run by the Child Welfare Trust must obtain marks of 40 percent in the annual examination. Students with special needs to obtain a minimum of 33 percent marks.

Although these provisions are part of the implementation guidelines for the primary education scholarship programme, they have not been followed so far. As a result, kindergarten and madrasah students are receiving stipends without attending classes after they enrol in government primary schools.

For the past few days, Primary and Mass Education Advisor Professor Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar has been vocal about the irregularities in the scholarship.

Under the circumstances, the Directorate of Primary Education has instructed Upazila and Thana education officers to strictly follow the rules and regulations in selecting and vetting students for scholarships.

On Monday night, Nasima Begum, director of the department's scholarship branch, told bdnews24.com: "Although these provisions regarding stipends are mentioned in the guidelines and manuals, there have been various irregularities due to non-compliance. In some places, there are allegations that scholarships are being given to students even though the condition of 85 percent attendance is not met.”

"There are allegations that kindergarten and madrasah students have also been admitted to government primary schools and are on the list of scholarships. They are receiving stipend money even without attending classes in government primary schools."

She said that the process of selecting new students for stipends will begin next January.

Over the past few weeks, Nasima says she has visited government primary schools and primary education-related offices in different parts of the country.

Describing that experience at an event on Monday afternoon, she said, "No matter how much money students get, the cost is not low. But we are not getting our desired results or seeing our desired outcomes.”

"The names of students are listed in primary schools for scholarships, but they are actually studying in other schools."

According to the Directorate of Primary Education, about 14 million students are currently receiving scholarships. Pre-primary students receive Tk 75 per month, students in grades one to five receive Tk 150 per month, and students in grades six to eight receive Tk 200 per month. A maximum of two students from a family can receive the scholarship.