Bobby Hajjaj denies discrimination in primary scholarship exams

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said that private school students face no discrimination in the primary scholarship examinations, as selection is being carried out based on proportional distribution.

He made the remarks on Friday morning while speaking to reporters after visiting a primary scholarship examination centre at Badshah Faisal Institute in the Mohammadpur area of Dhaka. He said private school students are being treated equally in line with the allocation system.

According to Bobby Hajjaj, one in eight students from government schools and one in five students from private schools are eligible to sit for the scholarship examinations. He said this reflects the proportional distribution system used in the process.

Data from the Directorate of Primary Education show that 640,000 candidates are taking part in this year’s scholarship examinations. Of them, 550,000 are from government schools and 90,000 from private institutions. A total of 82,500 scholarships have been allocated, including 66,000 for government school students and 16,500 for private school students.

The state minister said he visited the centre to observe how the examinations were being conducted. He added that information from different centres across the country suggested students were sitting the exams in a smooth and conducive environment.

He also said instructions had been issued to district and upazila education officers to ensure a fair environment at all examination centres. Bobby Hajjaj added that the government would review and update the primary scholarship policy after consulting stakeholders.

He said both the amount of scholarship money and the number of beneficiaries would be reassessed, adding that the policy would be designed to ensure “maximum equity”.

Later, he visited Bengali Medium High School Centre and Mohammadpur Government Primary School. Primary and Mass Education Secretary Abu Taher Md Masud Rana and Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Abu Noor Md Shamsuzzaman were also present during the visit.