Bangladesh govt. donates 320 mln textbooks to children ‎

The Bangladeshi government observed New Year Day practice by donating more than 320 million schoolbooks to 40.4 million children on Thursday in a bid to free the nation from illiteracy.  The Education Ministry donates the books during the ‘'Textbook Festival' held on New Year Day.  "This government wants all its citizens to have a basic education, "Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said.   The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party however boycotted the event calling a general strike.   The government printed more than 320 million textbooks for primary and secondary school students, madrassas (Islamic schools) and technical institutes.  

Thanks to schools set up by the Catholic Church and some NGOs, families have greater incentives to get a basic education.  Scholarships, canteens and free textbooks allow more kids to go to school, even among the poorest segments of society.  In fact, according to government data, an additional 16.6 million pupils went to school in in 2014.  According to the Education Department, 6.8 million students currently receive some form of aid.  About 3.1 million primary school pupils get free meals, and more than 3.8 million middle school pupils can count on scholarships.  (Source: AsiaNews)