DHAKA, March 16, 2024 (BSS) - The Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust

will give stipends to some 54 lakh underprivileged and meritorious students
in the secondary level through Nagad, a leading mobile financial service
provider in Bangladesh, with a view to ensuring their enrolments in schools.

Under the stipend disbursement programme, students from class six to 10 will
get Taka 5,000 each in one-time assistance. The disadvantaged students have
already applied online for the stipends, with disbursements expected to start
very soon.

Earlier, this stipend was distributed through several channels, but various
alleged irregularities were observed.

To bring discipline, the government has decided to disburse this assistance
solely through Nagad this time, according to a recent decision made by the
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education under the Education Ministry.

According to the officials familiar with the matter, the stipends for
secondary level students under the PM's Education Assistance Trust had been
disbursed through several mobile banking services, including Nagad, and even
through bank.

But, there had been numerous problems in stipend disbursements through such
different entities. "We found it very difficult to monitor and verify whether
the stipends were reaching actual beneficiaries. To address this issue, we
wanted to choose a single platform. We have easily chosen Nagad as it has
already proven its capability through successful distribution of primary
education stipends to 1.5 crore students," said a high official of the
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.

"Previously, various organisations distributed this stipend among
underprivileged students in different ways as they use different software,
causing difficulties for us to monitor them if disbursements were performed
properly. To address this issue, the Secondary and Higher Education
Directorate has opted for stipend distribution through Nagad," he noted.

Furthermore, considering the number of customers, Nagad is currently the
largest mobile banking company in the country.

At present, they have over nine crore registered customers. Additionally,
with three lakh agent points across the country, it is possible to withdraw
money from anywhere at any time.

"Maybe, this is why the government has chosen it solely for disbursing the
PM's education assistance," said an official of the institution.

"In the past few years, we have taken disbursements of government's allowance
and stipends to a different level. If we talk our success, there is no one
closer to us. Therefore, government agencies always prefer Nagad's services,"
said Muhammad Zahidul Islam, vice-president and head of Media and
Communication at Nagad Ltd.

Furthermore, he said stipend disbursements under the PM's Education
Assistance Trust are a sensitive project. "There is no other reason why Nagad
has been entrusted with the task. Its costs are also much lower. All of these
keep Nagad ahead of others," he added.

Earlier, in the last week of January, the Prime Minister's Education
Assistance Trust issued a notification, stating that the Trust will provide
admission assistance to poor and meritorious students enrolled in secondary
and equivalent levels in various educational institutions under the
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Directorate of Technical
Education, and Technical and Madrasa Education Division in the year 2024.

Students were asked to go to the designated website and apply online to
receive admission assistance. To be eligible for this assistance, the
parents' annual income must be less than Taka two lakh.

Additionally, children of employees in grades 13 to 20 of government, semi-
government, autonomous, and constitutional bodies will also be considered for
the education aid. To receive admission assistance, students must submit a
photo, signature, birth certificate, national identity cards of parents, and
recommendations from the heads of educational institutions in the designated
form.

Previously, in 2013, a fund amounting to Taka 1,000 crore was set up under
the PM's Education Assistance Trust. Since then, every year, underprivileged
and meritorious students at the secondary, higher secondary and graduate
levels have been provided one-time assistance.

The education aid has been fixed at Taka 5,000 at the secondary level, Taka
6,000 at the higher-secondary level and Taka 10,000 at the graduate and
equivalent level, according to the government's decision.