Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today stressed the
need for allocating more money to technical and vocational training from the
Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust to develop a skilled and
efficient generation as they can be entrepreneurs instead of running after
jobs.
“More money will be allocated to the students of technical and vocational
educational institutes from the trust aimed at making the youths skilled and
efficient ones as they can be entrepreneurs instead of running after jobs.”
The premier said in the 6th advisory council members’ meeting of Prime
Minister’s Education Assistance Trust at her office here.
Sheikh Hasina, also Chief Patron of the advisory council of the trust,
said, “We should change the mindset of running after for jobs.”
She asked the youths to be employers instead of employees.
In this context, she said, “We have formed the trust to give educational
assistance to talented but poor students as they can be self-reliant and thus
their families.”
The premier said this when a proposal regarding providing educational
assistance to the poor students, who are facing financial hardship to get
admitted to the medicals, engineering and general universities for higher
education, was placed before the meeting.
She, however, discouraged authorities concerned from abruptly providing
stipends to the students saying they should not be encouraged to depend on
the government’s subsidies.
Stressing the need for updating information on stipends, she directed the
authorities to entrust officials of ministries concerned with the
responsibilities.
She also gave her consent to a proposal of allocating Taka 5 crore more as
the seed money to give financial assistance to MPhil and Phd students. The
government earlier gave Taka 5 crore to this end.
The premier also suggested taking effective measures in allowing students
to get admitted to educational institutions in accordance with their seat
capacity.
She added: “I don’t understand how students are studying in a classroom
having excessive number of students.”
Prime Minister’s Education Assistance Trust was constituted in 2012 aimed
at providing scholarships to the poor and meritorious students deprived of
the opportunity of education due to lack of money.
A total of Taka 1,000 crore was given as seed money for the trust in the
2011-12 fiscal.
As many as Taka 550.90 crore have already been distributed among poor
talented students as stipend and financial assistance since 2013.
The trust has decided to distribute over Taka 111.40 crore among 209,600
poor students of private educational institutions this year.
Advisory council members of the trust: Finance Minister A H M Mustafa
Kamal, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Planning Minister M A Mannan and
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Mohammad Zakir Hossen were
present.
Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, PM’s Principal
Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, Finance Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder, PM’s Press
Secretary Ihsanul Karim, PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Dhaka
University Vice Chancellor Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, UGC (University Grants
Commission) Chairman Kazi Shahidullah, Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB)
Nazrul Islam, among others, were present on the occasion.
Managing Director of the trust Additional Secretary Nasrin Afroz made a
brief presentation on the overall activities of the trust and its future
plan.