To mark the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the authorities concerned have embarked on establishing five schools abroad for the children of Bangladeshi expatriates.
In the Middle East and Europe those schools will be established titled 'Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Centenary School'.
The government has already allocated Tk 100 crore for establishing of these schools for the children of expatriate workers in four countries - two in Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, one each in Athens, in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Greece, officials told Bangladesh Post.
“These schools are being developed mainly on the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE) is proving the fund," said Wage Earners Welfare Board (WEWB) director general Md. Hamidur Rahman to Bangladesh Post.
He said, “WEWB has approved the allocation of Tk 100.0267 crore from its fund for the establishment of these five schools. The fund of the welfare board is mainly formed by the expatriate workers.”
“There are now more than two million Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia, one million workers in the UAE, two lakh in Bahrain and more than 35,000 in Greece”, he added.
According to the WEWB, the school in Greece is being completely redesigned. The other four schools are now run by expatriate Bangladeshis stationed there. The medium of teaching in these schools (up to class X) will be Bengali and English.
Sources said more than Tk 26.24 was approved for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Centenary School in Greece in February and disbursed Tk 1 crore May last.
In the city of Ras-al-Khaimah in the UAE, there is an educational institution called Bangladesh English Private School. Tk 1.0 crore was allocated for this school in fiscal year 2020-21. Against the demand of Tk 20 crore of the Embassy in the UAE, another Tk 1 crore has been given this year. The new building of the school will be named after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The WEWB in a meeting in February last year approved the allocation of Tk 40 crore for the Bangladesh school in Bahrain.
It allocated Tk 17.92 crore has been approved for this organization for Bangladesh International Bangla School and College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh has selected land for the school. Tk 13.86 crore was approved in 2018 for the purchase of land and construction of a building for Bangladesh International School (English Medium) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
WEWB director Shaib Ahmed Khan told Bangladesh Post, “Work is underway to establish these schools. Land has been purchased in Bahrain, and school construction is under way in Dubai. In these schools, expatriate children will get world class education.”
