Citizen's Platform finds flaws in Family Card, Farmer's Card beneficiary selection

A field study by the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh has flagged some gaps across several of the government's flagship social welfare and education programmes.

Based on research conducted in 18 districts this month, the study released yesterday reported flaws in the Family Card cash transfer and beneficiary identification. It also found a rushed and opaque selection process for the Farmer's Card scheme.

Infographics: TBS

The study further reported spoiled food in school mid-day meal programmes, and severe infrastructure and training gaps in multimedia classrooms despite years of investment.

The findings were presented by Centre for Policy Dialogue's additional research director, Towfiqul Islam Khan, during a pre-budget dialogue at a city hotel, organised by the Platform. 

"The way the government has designed the Family Card was pretty good. Some errors were there because of time constraints," said Towfiqul.

He added that the government needs to establish an integrated beneficiary database linked to National ID systems for real-time verification to minimise inclusion and exclusion errors.

The findings emerged from 33 focus group discussions and 21 key informant interviews conducted between 2 and 11 May, covering six major programmes: Family Card, Farmers Card, Mid-Day Meal, Free Uniforms and Shoes, Free Wi-Fi, and Multimedia Classrooms.

Family Card

The study said the Family Card, which provides Tk2,500 monthly support to vulnerable households, is being undermined by inaccurate beneficiary data and unclear selection.

The report noted widespread confusion over eligibility requirements, particularly regarding the Proxy Means Test (PMT) score threshold used to determine beneficiaries.

The PMT is used to estimate household income using indirect indicators such as assets, housing conditions, education, and demographics, instead of directly measuring income.

Field observations showed that many recipients were excluded because of incorrect mobile financial service (MFS) numbers, while others reported receiving fraudulent phone calls after disbursements, raising concerns over data privacy and security.

Farmer's Card

The study said the Farmer's Card programme was rushed due to a tight timeline, limiting proper verification in the selection process.

"Farmers are broadly satisfied with the targeting in pre-pilot areas. However, some reported that their information was collected and the reasons for their exclusion were not clearly communicated," it said.

Besides, most beneficiaries were unclear about what services or incentives they would get. Also, beneficiaries alleged designated dealers supplied poor-quality inputs and often behaved unprofessionally. The report also said several technical features remain inactive.

Mid-day Meal

Among the most alarming findings were those related to the Mid-day Meal programme in government primary schools.

Despite contributing to higher student enrolment, the programme was found to suffer from recurring food quality issues, including fungus-affected bread, rotten eggs and expired items. 

"Meals mainly consist of bakery items like biscuits and buns, with bananas being the only fruit provided so far," the assessment found.

Towfiqul told TBS that the education ministry has formed a committee in the school led by the headmaster and parents of students, quoting the state minister for education.

The assessment also highlighted significant bottlenecks in the distribution of Free School Uniforms, Shoes, and Bags. He said the lack of official guidelines has led to uneven results.

Field observations revealed that footwear use among students remains inconsistent due to affordability and sizing issues, while the quality of uniforms varies widely between regions.

Multimedia Classroom

As part of its electoral commitments, the government has launched a plan to roll out 20,000 multimedia classrooms, with an initial target of establishing 3,832 units within 180 days.

However, field observations showed most schools currently have equipment in only one or two rooms, forcing teachers to move laptops and projectors between classes.

Furthermore, persistent load shedding remains a primary barrier to consistent use, while overcrowded and overly bright classrooms often make screens difficult to see. 

Beyond infrastructure, a significant "teacher capacity gap" has emerged, with only a small percentage of educators currently proficient in operating these devices.

'42% revenue growth target historically impossible'

Referring to the expected FY27 revenue target of Tk6.95 lakh crore against a projected expenditure of Tk9.3 lakh crore, Towfiqul said the government would likely keep the fiscal deficit, estimated at around Tk2.35 lakh crore, as the main anchor of the budget.

However, he questioned whether the revenue target was achievable. Based on CPD's projections using five forecasting methods, he said Bangladesh would need around 42% revenue growth from the likely FY26 year-end collection level to meet the target.

"Historically, such growth has never been sustained," he noted, adding that from 2001 to 2025, the government achieved revenue growth above 22% only once, in 2011, during a period of unusually high import and export expansion.

He warned that without urgent rationalisation of tax exemptions, the government risks a significant revenue shortfall, forcing "hard choices" on spending cuts and policy priorities.

Towfiqul also said implementation of Ninth Pay Commission recommendations could sharply raise wage costs, increasing minimum salaries from Tk8,250 to Tk20,000 and maximum salaries from Tk78,000 to Tk1,60,000. This would add Tk1.06 lakh crore beyond the current Tk1.31 lakh crore spent on salaries, allowances and pensions.

While only a 50% basic pay increase is reportedly under consideration for FY27, costing Tk30,000–35,000 crore, he cautioned that once implemented, pay scales would be difficult to reverse and would compress fiscal space for subsidies, and development spending.

While moderating the dialogue, Citizen's Platform convener Debapriya Bhattacharya said, if an expenditure structure is built on imaginary or unrealistic projections without considering the actual revenue situation, it will ultimately lead to printing money and fueling inflation

"Without economic stability, the government's social safety net funds will be of no use to ordinary people; inflation will simply devour all the gains," said Debapriya.