Primary scholarship: How much money will students receive, for how long?

This year, 79,246 students have been awarded primary scholarships. Of them, 32,965 received Talent Pool (merit) scholarships, while 46,281 received general scholarships. Not all scholarship quotas were filled. The original plan was to award scholarships to 82,500 students.

The results were published today, Sunday.

The question now is, how much money do scholarship recipients receive, and for how long?

According to the education authorities, although the Primary Scholarship Examination is administered by the Directorate of Primary Education, the scholarship payments are made by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education. This is because students take the scholarship examination after completing Grade 5, but by the time they receive the scholarship, they have already begun their secondary education.

Under the current rules, recipients of the primary scholarship receive the stipend from Grade 6 through Grade 8. After that, students in Grade 8 sit for the Junior Scholarship Examination, and scholarships awarded through that examination are paid until Grade 10.

Currently, students who receive Talent Pool (merit) scholarships at the primary level are entitled to a one-time grant of Tk 225 and a monthly stipend of Tk 300. Students awarded general scholarships receive a one-time grant of Tk 225 and a monthly stipend of Tk 225. In other words, students who received scholarships this year will receive these amounts.
However, the scholarship amounts will be increased starting with the 2026 Primary Scholarship Examination. This means that students who earn scholarships in the examination to be held at the end of this year will receive the revised, higher amounts.

At a press conference held today to announce the scholarship examination results, Shahina Ferdousi, Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education, presented the proposal. She said that the number of scholarships will remain unchanged at 82,500. However, for Talent Pool (merit) scholarship recipients, the proposed one-time grant has been increased from Tk 225 to Tk 450, and the monthly stipend from Tk 300 to Tk 600,effectively doubling both amounts.

In addition, it has been proposed that general scholarship recipients receive a one-time grant of Tk 450 instead of Tk 225, and a monthly stipend of Tk 450 instead of Tk 225.

Talent Pool scholarships are awarded on the basis of upazilas or thanas. General scholarships, on the other hand, are awarded by union and ward, with five scholarships allocated to each, two for boys, two for girls, and one based solely on merit.

Previously, separate scholarship examinations were held at the primary and secondary levels for a fixed number of students. Later, the Primary Education Completion Examination became the basis for awarding primary scholarships, allowing all students to compete. However, the system was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the Primary Scholarship Examination was unexpectedly reinstated in late 2022, the published results contained errors and inconsistencies. The authorities later decided to continue the examination. The test was originally scheduled to be held at the end of last year, but legal proceedings delayed it. After the issues were resolved, the examination was finally conducted in April this year, and the results were published today.