The government has decided to provide stipends to 1,16,000 poor and meritorious students from the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust Fund soon and the number of beneficiaries will be raised in phases.
The decision was taken at the first meeting of the advisory council of Trustee Board of the Prime Minister's Education Assistance Trust Fund held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair yesterday.
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed reporters after the meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Hasina said her government has attached top priority to education, and has been working for ensuring balanced development of all sectors, including the education sector.
The government constituted the Education Assistance Trust Fund with Tk 1,000 crore seed money to help the poor and meritorious students to continue their study up to degree level, she said.
Hasina said she formulated various plans for the development of education, health, agriculture, as well as poverty alleviation while she was in sub-jail during the last caretaker government.
Later, those plans were incorporated in the election manifesto of Awami League, she added.
The prime minister said her government, during its previous term, had raised the literacy rate to 65 percent but it came down to 50 percent during the subsequent BNP-Jamaat and caretaker governments.
The government is distributing textbooks free of cost up to secondary level, providing stipends to the female students and introduced midday meal to check the dropout rate, she said.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Planning Minister AK Khandker, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Primary and Mass Education Minister  Dr Afsarul Ameen and University Grants Commission Chairman Dr AK Azad Chowdhury and secretaries concerned attended the meeting.