Govt to provide free uniforms, bags, shoes and socks to 10.7m primary students

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said the government has undertaken an initiative to provide free school uniforms, school bags, shoes and socks to 10.7 million students enrolled in government primary schools across the country, with distribution planned between July and October.

He announced the initiative today (8 June) at an inter-ministerial preparatory meeting held at the Ministry of Textiles and Jute conference room regarding a pilot programme to distribute environmentally friendly jute school bags among primary school students.

He said the programme has been launched in line with the government’s election pledge and the directive of Tarique Rahman, with a pilot phase set to begin in July.

According to the state minister, the pilot programme will initially cover several hundred thousand students. More than 400,000 students will receive uniforms, school bags, shoes and socks in phases during July, August, September and October.

Based on the outcome of the pilot project, the government plans to expand the programme to all 10.7 million students studying in government primary schools nationwide.

Officials at the meeting said the Ministry of Textiles and Jute will support the initiative by supplying 500,000 environmentally friendly jute school bags. The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives will assist with implementation at the upazila and local levels and help ensure the timely delivery of the items to students.

Bobby Hajjaj expressed optimism that the programme would be rolled out nationwide before the government completes its first 180 days in office. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to formally inaugurate the initiative.

He added that lessons learned from the pilot phase would help expand the programme on a much larger scale next year. The government is also planning a major overhaul of primary education under the Fifth Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP-5).

The meeting was attended by State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam, secretaries of the respective ministries and other senior government officials.