Mobile financial service (MFS) provider, Nagad is going to be assigned to distribute stipend among the students of primary schools.
The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has started the process to sign a deal with Nagad in this regard following an instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the stipend disbursement cost would come down by a third through the fastest growing MFS arm of the Bangladesh Post Office, said officials.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md. Zakir Hossen on Saturday said Nagad will provide the disbursement service at only Taka 7.5 for per Taka 1,000.
"Receiving the Nagad's offer means we could save a lot of money which is being used to spend for disbursement and that is why I think it makes sense to choose Nagad," he opined. Officials said over the last few years, MFS provider SureCash has been receiving Taka 21 from the government as cash-out charges and data management for distributing Taka 1,000 in stipend.
Replying to a query, Zakir Hossen said they would sign an agreement with Nagad to this end within the next couple of days. Ministry officials said SureCash received 1.85 percent of the total stipend fund from the government for cash-out charges, meaning it charged Taka 18 for cashing out Taka 1,000. It used to charge another Taka 3 per Taka 1,000 for data processing. -BSS
