Sources at the upazila primary education offices in Gaibandha say the district’s seven upazilas have 144,203 students benefiting from the government primary stipend programme. Of these, across six upazilas, 1,384 students missed out on their stipend payments in just the first six months of this year alone — from January 1 to June 30, 2026. The amount involved totals 11 lakh 29 thousand 530 taka. Officials at the relevant offices say that if previous years were also counted, the number of affected students and the amount denied would be considerably higher.
Among the 1,384 students denied stipend money across the six upazilas, 424 were in Sadar upazila, amounting to 3 lakh 31 thousand 527 taka. In Sundarganj, 218 students missed out on 1 lakh 83 thousand 645 taka; in Sadullapur, 222 students missed out on 1 lakh 87 thousand 568 taka; in Palashbari, 223 students missed out on 1 lakh 76 thousand 703 taka; in Gobindaganj, 214 students missed out on 1 lakh 81 thousand 531 taka; and in Fulchhari, 83 students missed out on a refunded amount of 68 thousand 559 taka.
Among the students denied primary stipend money, the guardian of a fourth-grade student at Gaibandha Collegiate Model Government Primary School recently filed a written complaint with the Sadar upazila primary education officer. In the complaint, filed on September 6, the guardian sought a remedy and necessary action over not receiving the government stipend money. The complaint stated that the student had been receiving the government stipend continuously since starting school at the pre-primary level at Gaibandha Collegiate Model Government Primary School, but had not received any payment in the most recent two instalments.
According to the complaint, after missing the first instalment of the stipend, the matter was first reported to the child’s class teacher and the teacher in charge of stipend matters at the school, and later repeatedly to the head teacher. Eventually, school officials, showing a sheet marked “received” that they kept on file, said the payment had been made. Meanwhile, other students received their second stipend instalment. The guardian later checked the statement of the Nagad account used for the stipend, through Nagad’s relevant department, and found that no stipend money had been deposited into that account number since July 2, 2025. A written application was then submitted to the school’s head teacher on July 21. Getting no satisfactory resolution even after that, the guardian applied for urgent steps to recover the money and to determine exactly why and how the payment had been missed.
Meanwhile, Collegiate Model Government Primary School head teacher Arjuman Ara Begum has recently been accused of taking the stipend money of six fourth- and fifth-grade students into her own account. The sensational incident has circulated widely across various media outlets and social media. A three-member investigation committee, headed by upazila assistant primary education officer Khairul Islam, has already been formed by the relevant office to look into the matter, and has been asked to submit its report within three working days.
Inquiries found that after the matter came to light, the head teacher returned the money taken into her own account to the affected students’ guardians. Among the six students whose stipend money was taken into the head teacher’s account was a fourth-grader named Jim. Asked about it, Jim’s mother, Swapna Begum, said the head teacher had called her in a few days ago and given her 905 taka, promising to pay the rest later. She said money had suddenly stopped coming into her account.
The guardian of another student denied stipend money, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that despite repeated contact with officials, they had received no satisfactory resolution and had faced harassment. Nearly two months after informing the relevant officials, they were told the money had been returned. They said it was important to determine why the payments had suddenly stopped, and where exactly the returned money had gone.
On this, Gaibandha Collegiate Model Government Primary School head teacher Arjuman Ara Begum acknowledged taking the students’ money into her own account, and said the matter had been resolved. However, she said she had not personally handled the online stipend-related work, claiming it had been done through the class teacher.
On the question of students being denied stipend money, Sadar upazila assistant primary education officer Md Shahidullah, who handles IT matters related to the stipend programme, said the upazila education office’s records showed the complaining guardian’s student’s stipend payment as “returned” (bounced) in iBAS. However, he said, the reason for this was not known. Sadullapur upazila assistant primary education officer Ashraful Islam, who also handles stipend-related IT matters, said that under new rules, the Nagad or bKash account must be registered in the same name as the ID card holder. He said some students’ payments were being blocked because of mismatches between old NID numbers and new smart card numbers, adding that cases where payments were not going through despite everything being correct were beyond their knowledge.
Sadar upazila primary education officer Abdul Hannan said there is effectively little his office can do to resolve such stipend-related problems. However, citing an unofficial source, he said students shown as having their money returned would eventually be paid, though officials had no clear answer on when or through what process this would happen. Asked about the head teacher of the collegiate school taking students’ money into her own account, he said an investigation committee had been formed, and necessary action would be taken once its report is received.
District primary education officer Lakshman Kumar Das told Dhaka Post that stipend-related matters are not within the district education office’s purview at all, and are entirely handled by the upazila education offices, so his office has no information on the matter. College teacher and Gaibandha Press Club president Amitabh Das Himu said there have been various instances of embezzlement of primary students’ stipend money, and that it needs to be investigated whether the money for these denied students is genuinely being returned to government accounts, or why it is happening. He said the relevant authorities should also give students clear notice on whether they will receive the money, and if so, how and when.
Gaibandha’s additional deputy commissioner (education and ICT), Md Reduanul Halim, told Dhaka Post he had just learned of the matter, and that necessary steps would be taken after gathering detailed information. He said the issue of ensuring students are not denied government funds would be taken seriously.