"Skilled and efficient youths can be entrepreneurs instead of running after jobs. We should change the mindset of running after 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 to the officials of the ministry concerned.
The Prime Minister also gave her consent to a proposal for 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.
Irked by the excessive number of students in classrooms, she asked the authorities to take effective measures in allowing students to get admitted to 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 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 were, among others, 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.