Govt Expands Digital Access Across Madrasa and Technical Education

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced that “free Wi-Fi” will be introduced in 10,568 institutions, including 8,000 madrasas across the country.

Responding to a question from Pabna-5 Member of Parliament Shimul Biswas during the question-answer session in the National Parliament on Wednesday morning, 16 April, the Prime Minister said that within the next 180 days, free Wi-Fi will be launched in 2,336 technical institutions and 8,232 madrasa educational institutions as part of modernization efforts.

He said that several key initiatives outlined in the election manifesto have already been taken up on a priority basis, and significant progress has been achieved in their implementation.

He further informed that a committee has been formed to ensure effective operation of high-tech/software parks and ICT centers, as well as to take effective steps to launch PayPal services in Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the family—not the individual—is the fundamental unit of development. Under this philosophy, to support marginal and low-income families, a program has been launched to provide Tk 2,500 per month to female heads of 37,814 families through “Family Cards” in 13 districts and 3 city corporations at the initial stage.

At the pre-piloting stage, the program is currently being implemented in 11 agricultural blocks across 11 upazilas in 10 districts. In addition, to fulfill electoral commitments, the government has waived agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 in the crop, agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors. For this purpose, the government has allocated Tk 1,567 crore 96 lakh in the budget, benefiting approximately 1,317,500 farmers nationwide.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also said that under the 180-day priority program of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, a pilot scheme has already disbursed honorariums and festival allowances to 9,102 beneficiaries working in mosques, temples, Buddhist viharas, pagodas, and churches through bank accounts. Efforts are underway to expand the coverage.

The parliamentary session began at 11:00 am under the chairmanship of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, with members participating in the scheduled question-answer session at the outset of the day.

DBTech/SA/EK/OR