Prime Minister Tareque Rahman has said the government has decided to make education free for women through the honors level in order to further expand their educational opportunities. He said the government will bear all costs, alongside a scholarship program for female students who achieve good results.
He made the remarks Sunday afternoon at the Mirzapur Chairman Baraghat area in Pakundia upazila, Kishoreganj, during an event marking National Fisheries Week 2026, which included releasing fish fry into the old Brahmaputra river, distributing fish fry to local fishermen, and exchanging greetings with local residents.
The prime minister said that when Begum Khaleda Zia led the country, she made women’s education free through the intermediate level. He said women make up half the country’s population, and the nation cannot move forward if women are left behind. For that reason, he said, the current government has decided to make women’s education free through the honors level, with the government covering all costs.
He said many sisters and daughters were present at the event, urging them to focus on their studies so that they can one day take charge of the country’s future. He added that the government will also provide stipends for female students who achieve good results.
The prime minister further said the government wants to provide school uniforms once a year to children from poor families across thousands of primary schools spread throughout rural areas. Beyond uniforms, he said, the government wants to deliver school bags to nearly 12 million children. Alongside distributing new textbooks each year, the government wants to bring new school bags and uniforms to every household.
On empowering women economically, the prime minister said: “Just as we want to advance Bangladeshi women in education, we also want to help them become self-reliant. Before the election, we said that among Bangladesh’s 40 million families, wherever a woman heads the household and runs the family, she would gradually receive a family card. By the grace of God, work on the family card has already begun.”
The prime minister expressed hope that over the next five years, this card would gradually reach every household in the country.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report