The government’s various welfare and state-reform initiatives over the past month have been grouped into seven main sectors, according to Mahdi Amin, the prime minister’s adviser on education and primary and mass education. These initiatives cover areas including youth empowerment, education and ICT innovation, technical education, higher education, skills development, and co-curricular activities at educational institutions. He shared the information at a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday (September 16), outlining various government activities.
Adviser Mahdi Amin said that, to encourage young people across the country to become entrepreneurs, a nationwide “Upazila-based Young Entrepreneur Search, Identification and Financing Programme” has been launched through a special 50 crore taka loan fund under Bangladesh Bank, under which 5,000 promising young people will receive seed capital support each year. A collateral-free, interest-free “e-loan” facility has also been launched through digital channels for marginal and small entrepreneurs. A nationwide online startup fund has been opened to young people from Teknaf to Tetulia. A national “Bangladesh Innovation Fair” is being organised to directly connect young innovators with global investors.
For cyber security, a “Cyber Incident Reporting System” and a “National ICT and Cyber Security Rating System” have been launched in the country. On producing affordable, modern smartphones at local factories, the adviser said special policy incentives are being introduced. With a target of bringing 50 million people under this benefit, an initial goal has been set to bring down the effective price of smartphones to between 2,000 and 3,000 taka for people at the most marginal levels, including agricultural workers, farmers and rickshaw pullers.
To make young people employable on the world stage, technical education is being made available to everyone from class six onward, and made compulsory for all National University students. A process is under way to add four new books — two each — to the primary and secondary curricula. A nationwide, modern “Alpha” project has been adopted to give practical job skills to around 4.5 million people. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with China to modernise technical education, alongside the launch of an international service centre and three platforms.
An initiative is under way to establish a specialised public university in Cox’s Bazar for research on marine resources and the blue economy. On higher-education opportunities, the door has been opened for 509 meritorious students to receive fully funded Saudi government scholarships each year.
Mahdi Amin said that, as a special gift from the prime minister, top-performing SSC students will receive recognition and gifts, alongside a policy decision to give bicycles to meritorious girl students at various levels based on merit. To ensure nutrition for Qawmi and Aliya madrasa students, a framework for a free, balanced midday meal has been drawn up for the 2026-2031 period. The announced “15 disciplines” are being implemented to ensure quality education, alongside directives issued for year-round sports and co-curricular activities.
The prime minister’s education adviser further said an initiative has been taken to install solar panels on the roofs of all educational institutions in the country to meet their own electricity needs, which will be implemented in phases. An initiative is also under way to create substantial employment by renovating the country’s unused and abandoned government water bodies and allocating them to young people. Work has also begun on a masterplan, coordinated across industry and commerce, to bring the country’s idle 8,000-crore-taka technology park into operation.