No more scholarships at primary: State Minister

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md. Zakir Hossain today said that the students will not be given scholarships at the primary stage. However, financial assistance will be given to primary students through such activities as the Mini Olympiad, Bengali Olympiad, and Science Olympiad.

He informed this at a press conference held at the meeting room of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on Thursday (September 7).

“A nationwide competition will be held to encourage extra co-curricular activities. We have already included it in our National Education Week. For example, we are encouraging dancing and singing,” said State Minister Md. Zakir Hossain.

Ministry of Primary and Mass Education’s secretary Farid Ahmed said, “For many days, we used to hold primary final terms exams – based on that result, scholarships were given without taking a separate examination. It is one kind of incentive, motivation or to inspire the children.”

“Now, the change in education is not only refinement, it is absolutely transformation. The National Curriculum framework that was in place in 2010 due to transformation; It has been completely changed to National Curriculum Outline 2021,” he said.

Secretary Farid Ahmed said that coaching in the pre-primary or primary stage has been “hundred percent discouraged”. Such competitive examination is discouraged. “Continuous evaluation” is encouraged.

He said that this year we conducted a scholarship exam on an experimental basis. Then we held an inter-ministerial meeting with the Ministry of Education and decided not to conduct the primary scholarship examination.

“How can we encourage these children to develop talent or latent talent, we have formed a technical committee to figure out this process. There we had some recommendations. Such activities as Mini Olympiad, Bangla Olympiad, and Science Olympiad,” said Secretary Farid Ahmed.

He said that the sub-committee we have made to discourage coaching has given us some recommendations. We have given them one more month, if they give it we will go in that direction. But we have decided not to take the scholarship exam.

So will scholarships be given to primary students through the Bangla Olympiad and Science Olympiad by stopping the scholarship examination? When asked such a question by the journalists, the secretary said that we would give them “motivational financial support” and other support to encourage them, not scholarships through such competitions.

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