Prof Yunus, also managing director of Grameen Bank, made the call at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of 'Student Scholarship Management Project' of Grameen Shikkha in the city.

Grameen Shikkha, a non-government voluntary organisation, provides scholarships for the poor and meritorious students in rural areas to continue their education.

It has awarded scholarships to 171 students in 20 districts with the help of affluent people and well-known organisations in the last one year.

Under the project, any person or organisation can deposit Tk 50 thousands or more to sponsor scholarships, said Nurjahan Begum, managing director of Grameen Shikkha.

So far, 37 individuals and 14 organisations have provided about Tk one crore for the scholarship project of Grameen Shikkha, she added.

"I expect that the amount will stand at Tk 50 crore in the next five years as more sponsors will join the programme and over one lakh students will be benefited from this project," said Prof Yunus.

"We also want to expand our activities to all 64 districts to provide talented students at the grassroots level with an opportunity to continue their education," he added.

The sponsors included National Professor and former foreign minister Shamsul Haq, economist Prof Nurul Islam, Shahed Kamal Majumder and Hasin Ahmed.

Grameen phone, Nokia and Grameen Telecom, Grameen Shakti, Shakti Foundation, Exposure and Dialogue Programme of Germany and Small Planet Fund have also sponsored scholarships.