Primary scholarship exam to be held in April

The primary scholarship examination of last year, which had been suspended due to a court case, will be held in the first week of April before the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Azha.

Students from kindergartens will also be allowed to participate in this scholarship examination. In this case, 80 per cent of the scholarships will go to students of government primary schools and 20 per cent to students of kindergartens and other private schools.

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon announced this information today, Wednesday at a press conference held at the Secretariat on the occasion of publishing the results of the Junior Scholarship Examination for Class VIII and the scholarship examinations of Class VIII and Class V (Ebtedayee) of madrasas.

State Minister for Education Boby Hajjaj was also present.

Regarding the primary scholarship examination, the education minister said there is one country and one education system.

Therefore, it has been decided that the primary scholarship exam will be taken with the same question paper.

However, since the number of students is higher in government schools, 80 per cent of the scholarships will be given to government school students and 20 per cent to private, including kindergarten, students, he added.

The minister said a total of 82,500 students will receive scholarships at the primary level. Among them, 33,000 will receive merit scholarships—27,500 for government schools and 5,500 for private schools. On the other hand, there will be 49,500 general scholarships, including 41,250 for government schools and 8,250 for private schools.

The education minister said students who receive merit scholarships will get a one-time grant of Tk 225 and Tk 300 per month. Those who receive general scholarships will get a one-time grant of Tk 225 and Tk 225 per month. He also said there is consideration to increase the scholarship amount next year.

Remarks of minister-state minister on objections to scholarship exam

Before 2010, the junior scholarship examination was held separately. After the introduction of the JSC examination, all students competed for scholarships. However, there was criticism as dependence on coaching and private tutoring increased.

When the JSC examination was discontinued during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, it was not reintroduced under the new curriculum. But after eight months of the academic year had passed last year, the Ministry of Education decided to introduce the junior scholarship exam for Class VIII students.

On the other hand, the primary scholarship exam, which was conducted through the Primary School Certificate examination, was also stopped during the pandemic.

Although it was suddenly reintroduced at the end of 2022, errors and inconsistencies were found in the results. It was not held again afterward.

Recently, a decision was made to reintroduce the scholarship examination at the primary level. However, last year the primary scholarship remained suspended due to a court case.

People from education sector have been saying that this scholarship examination, organised for a fixed number of students, will increase inequality in education. There is concern that weaker students may fall further behind, as educational institutions will mainly focus on the selected number of students. Other students in the class may be neglected.

Yet, for achieving the learning outcomes set by the curriculum, greater support is needed for lagging students. There is also concern that dependence on coaching and private tutoring will increase, adding financial pressure on guardians.

Before the parliamentary election, a committee formed by the interim government to recommend measures for improving the quality of secondary education suggested maintaining the decision to cancel the public examination (JSC) in Class VIII and abolishing the junior scholarship exam.

Replying to journalists’ questions at today’s press conference on this issue, Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon disagreed with the advice of educationists. However, he said they would try to consider it later and discuss with experts. In his view, based on his own judgment, he cannot at this moment support the idea of discontinuing the traditionally held scholarship examination.

At the press conference, State Minister Boby Hajjaj said they do not want to take away any form of incentive in the education sector from students and guardians. However, a question may arise about expanding this benefit further. They will work to bring all students under this umbrella.