135 GPA-5 Achievers, All Children of Tea-Stall Owners, Honoured With Two Years of Study Support Pledged

All of their parents run tea stalls for a living. Studying through hardship, they passed this year's SSC examinations with a GPA-5. A total of 135 such high-achieving students from across the country, together with their parents, have been honoured by 'Number One', a brand of Meghna Group of Industries (MGI).

On Tuesday morning, at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium in the capital, the students were presented with honours and gifts. Medals were also placed around the necks of their fathers and mothers.

Each of the 135 students received a crest, a certificate and a one-time scholarship payment. The brand also pledged two years of education support for their HSC examination preparation.

Under the initiative, the students will also be able to take HSC preparatory academic courses on the online education platform Ten Minute School.

Special guests at the ceremony were writer and Prothom Alo managing editor Anisul Hoque and Ten Minute School founder and chief executive Ayman Sadiq. Also present were MGI chief accounts officer Md Rahmatullah Khandaker, chief human resources officer Atik Uz Zaman Khan, senior general manager (audit) Sajjad Hossain and deputy general manager (brand) Md Mahbubur Rahman, along with other senior officials of the group. The event was hosted by Toma Rashid.

Congratulating the students, Anisul Hoque said that doing well in examinations alone is not enough to succeed in life; what is also needed is the ability to dream, to work hard and to keep moving forward despite adversity. Many of their families live with various limitations, he said, but those limitations should not be allowed to stand in the way of their dreams.

MGI chief accounts officer Md Rahmatullah Khandaker said the Number One brand works for its customers beyond commercial planning, and this event was part of that effort to inspire disadvantaged and marginalised customers. The aim, he said, was to celebrate the achievement of tea-stall owners' children so that they grow into honest, skilled and humane citizens who serve their families, society and country.

Chief human resources officer Atik Uz Zaman Khan said the celebration would not end with the day's event; they would stay with the students through the two years of higher secondary education and into the next stage, because many students are seen dropping out before reaching higher education.

Addressing the students, Ayman Sadiq said that by achieving a GPA-5 in the SSC they had proved their merit, and now they must carry that achievement to the next stage. With regular study, planned preparation and self-belief, he said, they would also do well in the HSC.

Nusrat Jahan, a student who came to the ceremony with her father from Kalai upazila in Joypurhat, said it was because of her father's tireless hard work that she could study without worry. Zahir Uddin Pradhan, father of another honoured student, Shahadat Hossain, said he felt as happy at the ceremony as he had on hearing his son's result.

Diya Chowdhury, a student of Baytush Sharaf School and College in Cox's Bazar, said the event was a great encouragement and that two years of study support for HSC preparation would help them move forward. Content creator Farhan Sadik, known as 'Liliput Farhan', also spoke to the students at the event.

The organisers said the programme, titled 'Number One Babar Kriti Sontan Songbordhona 2026', began in 2024 and was held for the third time this year. In the previous two years, 150 high-achieving students were honoured, and they are now studying at well-known institutions across the country.