Tax rebate on donations to edn, health sectors: PM

Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina has said the government would give tax rebate on donations to education and health sectors. The PM said this when a delegation of Moulana Bhasani Science and Technology University (MBSTU), led by its Vice-chancellor Prof Dr M Nurul Islam, called on her at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Tuesday morning, reports UNB. Talking to the delegation, Sheikh Hasina urged the country's affluent section of people and institutions to come forward with financial donations to the health and education sectors for national development. She said her government attaches top priority to the education sector, especially to science and technology-based education, for the country's development. She said the last AL government had taken a project to establish 12 science and technology universities, but the BNP-Jama'at government, after assuming power, shelved it on political ground. The present government, however, has restarted the project, she added. Hasina also mentioned the newly formed Education Assistance Trust Fund worth Tk 10 billion for providing free education to the poor students up to undergraduate level. PMO Principal Secretary Sheikh Wahid Uz Zaman, PM's Secretary Molla Waheeduzzaman and her Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad were also present on the occasion. The delegation apprised the PM of various problems of the university. Hasina gave them a patient hearing and said she would look into the matters. The delegation lauded the PM for resolving the financial problems of three universities, including Jagannath University. They said the MBSTU opened a number of new departments, including Criminology and Police Science. Paying tributes to the memories of great leader Moulana Bhashani, the PM said she herself would take care of the university.