PM stresses giving more fund for vocational, technical training

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today put emphasis on allocating more fund for technical and vocational training from the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust to develop a skilled and efficient generation.

"Skilled and efficient youths can be entrepreneurs instead of running after jobs. We should change the mindset to run after for jobs," she said at the 6th advisory council members' meeting of Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust at her office.

Sheikh Hasina, also Chief Patron of the advisory council of the trust, said the government formed it to give educational assistance to talented but poor students.

Stressing the need for updating information on stipends, she directed the authorities to give responsibilities to this end upon the officials of the concerned ministry.

She also gave her consent to a proposal of allocating Tk 5 crore more as the seed money to give financial assistance to MPhil and Phd students. The government earlier gave Tk 5 crore to this end. With the new money the amount will be Tk 10 crore.

The prime minister, irked with excessive number of students in classrooms, asked the authorities to take effective measures in allowing students to get admitted in the educational institutions in accordance with their seat capacity.

Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust was constituted in 2012 with Tk 1,000 crore as seed money aimed at providing scholarships to poor and meritorious students.

Since 2013, some Tk 550.9 crore has already been distributed among the poor talented students as stipend and financial assistance.

The trust has decided to distribute over Tk 111.4 crore among 2,09,600 poor students of the private educational institutions this year.

Advisory Council members of the trust, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Planning Minister MA Mannan and State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Mohammad Zakir Hossen were present.

Deputy Education Minister Barrister 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, University Grants Commission Chairman Kazi Shahidullah, Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder, 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.