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Description
The government reportedly has launched a programme under which stipends to meritorious children of the Bangladeshi expatriate workers, studying at different levels of education, are being offered. A total of 200 students of expatriates' families, who have obtained GPA-5 from primary up to higher secondary level examinations, will be entitled to the stipends set for distribution on the forthcoming World Migration Day on December 18 next. Last year 50 such stipends were awarded, though the official agency concerned had a programme for extending such support to, at least, 120 students. It did not receive enough applications from the migrant families for the stipends. The amount of money given as stipend per month is not that small. Each stipend-holder at primary, junior, secondary and higher secondary levels gets a monthly amount of Tk 900, Tk 1000, Tk 1,500 and Tk 2,000 respectively. Besides, they are entitled to Tk 1,500, Tk 2,000, Tk 3,000 and Tk 3,000 each every year for purchasing books and other reading materials. The expenses on account of the stipends are being made available from the Wage Earners' Welfare Fund (WEWF), a financial mechanism devised several years back to promote welfare of the members of the families of migrant workers. The programme of providing stipends to meritorious students of migrant families, is, no doubt, laudable, notwithstanding the fact the money thus being spent does not belong to the government. In fact, it is migrant workers' money available with the WEWF. The stipend programme, if implemented and expanded with seriousness, will really help the children of the expatriate Bangladeshi workers to pursue higher education. Moreover, compared to spendings of WEWF resources in other areas, this programme has merit well beyond the immediate purpose. There have been allegations of mishandling of WEWF money. Until December, 2012, the WEWF had resources worth Tk 4.71 billion out of which nearly an amount of Tk 2.5 billion was spent on various programmes and projects, including the setting up of the Probashi Kallyan Bank and Probashi Kallyan Bhaban. But, surprisingly, the government has been spending the WEWF resources on activities that, in all fairness, should have been implemented with the government's own funds. For instance, expenditures involving maintenance of migrant welfare desk at airports, online registration and fingerprinting of migrant workers, issuance of smart cards and operation of help-desks for migrant workers at different Bangladesh missions abroad, are now being met from the WEWF. Recently, the management of the fund has announced the abandonment of a housing project at Baridhara, meant for the expatriate workers, following some allegations of irregularities. The authorities concerned do need to appreciate the fact that the resources of the WEWF belong to the migrant workers and the same are being collected to help the migrants and their families, not others, when they are in distress. So, the government will have to devise more programmes like the one relating to the distribution of stipends for meritorious children of expatriate workers who last year had earned $14 billion for the country. These hard working people do deserve some meaningful and welfare-oriented programmes, not mere some hollow appreciation of their contribution to the national economy.
Keywords
stipend, migrant workers' children, economy, workers, bangladeshi education, migration, students, children
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