Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman, seen with the students who received scholarships awarded by Southeast Bank, at a function in Dhaka Monday.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman Monday urged scheduled banks to spend at least one-third of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for helping the poor but meritorious students.

The key to attain sustainable growth of a populous country like Bangladesh lies with the development of human resources and its root is education, he said.

Dr. Atiur was addressing a function to distribute education scholarship and accord reception to 75 scholarship receivers at bachelor level, organised by Southeast Bank at a city hotel.

Referring that the government has identified human resources development as an integral part of overall uplift planning in view to building a technology and knowledge based digital Bangladesh, Governor said today’s learners will emerge as the driving force of knowledge, information and economic growth of the country in course of time.

Emphasising the need for distributing credit among the poorest segment of the population Atiur said the central bank has been working for building a humane banking system, side by side, implementing the government’s poverty eradication and job creation oriented programme.

He said in CSR activities the scheduled banks invested only Tk 550 million in 2009 while the expenditure was raised to Tk 2.33 billion in 2010.

He urged the banks to expand their CSR heads by investing in renewable energy, bio-gas plant, solar power driven irrigation, providing solar lights to the students of char and haor regions etc.

Dr Atiur advised them to add conditions to the credit holders for participating in CSR activities.

Governor said a big portion of the country’s meritorious section of students does not have opportunity to take higher education, and as a result they are dropped out at a stage of their education. Now, time has come to take steps in finding them out and check this in the greater interest of the nation.

Managing Director of Southeast Bank Mahbubul Alam presided over the ceremony while Chairman of the bank and also Chairman of Southeast Bank Foundation, Alamgir kabir FCA, was present as special guest.

Vice Chairman of the Bank, Raghib Ali, Executive Director of Southeast Bank Foundation, M Nurun Nabi, Director Azim Uddin Ahmed, Adviser of the Foundation Zakir Ahmed Khan and Project Director of the Foundation Ayesha Shirin Rahman also spoke on the occasion.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 17th July 2012