Girls outnumber boys among primary scholarship recipients

A total of 79,246 students have been awarded Primary Scholarships this year, with girls accounting for 54.71 per cent of the recipients and boys 45.29 per cent.

Of the successful candidates, 32,965 have received Talentpool Scholarships (merit scholarships), while 46,281 have been awarded General Scholarships.

The results of the 2025 Primary Scholarship Examination were published today, Sunday.

Minister for Education and for Primary and Mass Education, ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon unveiled the results at a press conference held at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital.

Also addressing the event were State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj, the Prime Minister's Adviser on Education and Primary and Mass Education Mahdi Amin, and the Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education, Shahina Ferdousi, among others.

Students and their guardians were subsequently able to access the results through the prescribed procedure.

The results of the Primary Scholarship Examination, taken by pupils in class-V of primary schools, had originally been scheduled for publication last Thursday under an initial decision. However, the announcement was ultimately postponed.

Before the official release, the results for nine districts of the Dhaka Division were uploaded to designated web links. Members of the public subsequently accessed and downloaded the results from those links, after which they were widely circulated on social media.

Following the incident, an official of the Directorate of Primary Education was suspended on charges of misconduct, and an investigation committee was formed.

This year, students from both government and non-government primary schools were eligible to sit the scholarship examination.

Students from a total of 78,810 schools participated, comprising 65,605 government schools and 13,205 non-government schools. A total of 344,127 students from government primary schools and 75,855 students from non-government primary schools took the examination.

Talent Pool Scholarships are awarded on an upazila or thana basis, while General Scholarships are allocated on the basis of unions and wards, with five scholarships available in each locality—two for boys, two for girls and one awarded purely on merit.

Although the government had planned to award a total of 82,500 scholarships this year—80 per cent to students from government schools and 20 per cent to those from non-government schools—not all available quotas were filled.

Among the recipients of Talent Pool Scholarships, 26,375 are from government schools and 6,590 from non-government schools. Of those receiving General Scholarships, 36,420 attend government schools, while 9,861 are from non-government institutions.

Speaking at the press conference, Ehsanul Hoque Milon said Dhaka district produced the highest number of scholarship recipients this year, with 4,682 students, while Bandarban district recorded the lowest number, with 188.

He added that Dinajpur district had the highest number of unsuccessful candidates. The highest rate of absenteeism was recorded in Narayanganj district, at 52.8 per cent, whereas Thakurgaon district recorded the highest attendance rate, at 81.61 per cent.

Scholarship stipends

Students awarded Primary Scholarships receive financial assistance from Class-VI to Class-VIII. After that, they sit the Junior Scholarship Examination in Class-VIII, the outcome of which determines scholarship payments up to Class-X.

Under the current scheme, recipients of Talent Pool Scholarships receive a one-off grant of Tk 225 and a monthly stipend of Tk 300. Students awarded General Scholarships receive a one-off grant of Tk 225 and a monthly stipend of Tk 225.

Accordingly, students receiving scholarships this year will receive payments at these existing rates.

However, the scholarship amounts will be increased from the 2026 Primary Scholarship Examination onwards. Consequently, students who qualify in the scholarship examination to be held later this year will receive the revised payments.

At the press conference, Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Shahina Ferdousi presented a proposal outlining the increase.

She said that while the total number of scholarships would remain unchanged at 82,500, the one-off grant for Talent Pool Scholarship recipients would be doubled from Tk 225 to Tk 450, while the monthly stipend would increase from Tk 300 to Tk 600.

Similarly, it has been proposed that recipients of General Scholarships should receive a one-off grant of Tk 450 instead of Tk 225, while their monthly stipend would rise from Tk 225 to Tk 450.

At one time, separate scholarship examinations were held at the primary and secondary levels for a fixed number of students. The Primary Scholarship Examination was later incorporated into the Primary Education Completion (PEC) Examination, allowing all students to participate. The scheme was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the scholarship examination was unexpectedly reintroduced at the end of 2022, errors and inconsistencies were identified in the published results. The government subsequently decided to continue the examination.

Although it had been scheduled to take place at the end of last year, legal proceedings delayed the process. Following the resolution of those complications, the examination was finally held in April this year, and the results have now been published.

Also present at the press conference were State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmud Khayyam, State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque, and other senior officials.