Editorial
Free education for poor children
The big project needs close supervision
A massive scheme designed to educate nearly half a million deprived and dropped-out children has been launched by the prime minister raising fresh hopes for a fillip to the primary education sector. The six-year-long project called 'Reaching out to School Children' at a massive cost of Tk 400 crore with donor assistance, namely from the World Bank and Swiss Agency Development Cooperation, is probably the first of its kind in the country. Undoubtedly, the move is praiseworthy, though the stage and tenor must be set firmly, early in the day, for the project to be properly and fully implemented. Given the penchant for corruption in the primary education sector, implementation of such a staggered project with a huge financial involvement will have to be carefully supervised from the beginning till the end. For instance, steps must be taken to ensure that the annual allowance under the project reach the deserving and genuine candidates. As for the details of the scheme, we would like to know whether it is just a functional literacy project or is geared to provide onward access to higher education for the poor children. Furthermore, is it only the allowance that is going to be provided to the children or there are other components to the project? Free education for poor children is intertwined with free distribution of textbooks. Only the other day, the news of text books meant to be distributed free of cost to the school-goers having strayed into the open market for sale shocked many people. The education ministry responded promptly to The Daily Star report on the subject and ordered investigation into the scandal. We feel that the culprits, from the officials to the sellers, all must be punished; otherwise, free education goal will be badly compromised.
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