Primary students to get free shoes, bags and uniforms : State Minister

Online Desk  :  State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj on Thursday said the government has launched initiatives to provide free jute bags, uniforms and footwear to government primary school students. Speaking at a meeting with representatives of leading leather goods and footwear manufacturers in Dhaka, the state minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had directed the ministry to implement the programme. As part of a pilot initiative, the government plans to distribute quality school shoes to first-grade students in government primary schools. Major corporate companies have reportedly agreed to support the programme under their Corporate Social Responsibility...

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Online Desk  :  State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj on Thursday said the government has launched initiatives to provide free jute bags, uniforms and footwear to government primary school students. Speaking at a meeting with representatives of leading leather goods and footwear manufacturers in Dhaka, the state minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had directed the ministry to implement the programme.

As part of a pilot initiative, the government plans to distribute quality school shoes to first-grade students in government primary schools. Major corporate companies have reportedly agreed to support the programme under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

The State Minister said, “We want this initiative to become a dignified and integrated support for children, not just a distribution program. Therefore, it is important to have coordination in the quality, design and production process of shoes. Bobby Hajjaj said that if there is a big difference in the quality of shoes from different institutions, it can create discriminatory experiences among children. For this, he emphasized on determining an acceptable standard based on the opinions of the relevant institutions.”

He said that initially, a plan has been taken to distribute shoes to all first-grade students of two government primary schools in every upazila of the country. In this, about one lakh students will come under this program. At this time, he ordered the formation of a committee to determine technical and quality standards.

Bobby Hajjaj said that the committee will include representatives of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, technical experts, experts from the Leather Institute, the University of Engineering and a representative from each participating institution.

He also said that design, quality checking and certification must be ensured according to international standards. The State Minister said that as part of the government’s 180-day program, the goal has been set to implement this pilot project within a short time. Since the institutions regularly produce such shoes, he also expressed hope that it will be possible to implement the program quickly.