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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday announced plans to make education free for girls up to the undergraduate honours level and introduce merit-based scholarships for high-achieving female students.
He also said the government is planning to provide free school uniforms and bags to primary school students across the country.
The prime minister made the announcement while replying to supplementary questions during the budget session of Parliament.
Responding to a question from lawmaker Helen Jerin Khan, Tarique said the government is committed to promoting women’s education and economic empowerment.
He said the previous BNP government led by Khaleda Zia had introduced free education for girls up to the higher secondary level, and the current government now plans to extend the benefit to the degree and honours levels.
“We want to make education free for girls up to the honours level. Those who achieve outstanding academic results will also be awarded scholarships,” he said.
Referring to female students watching the parliamentary proceedings from the visitors’ gallery, the prime minister said the initiative is intended to encourage more women to pursue higher education and excel academically.
Replying to another supplementary question from reserved-seat MP Shammi Akter, Tarique said the government also plans to provide free school uniforms and school bags to students from Class I to Class V in government primary schools.
He said the programme would be implemented in phases, covering nearly 65,000 government primary schools and around 12 million students across the country.
“I want to assure all members of Parliament that we will gradually reach every child from Class I to Class V with these facilities,” the prime minister said.