Grameenphone has launched a new value-added service yesterday that would provide callers education-related information over the phone. The service, Studyline, would be accessible from any GP connection by dialling 2255. It would offer admission information on local schools, colleges and universities along with admission procedures of renowned universities of the world, according to a statement by the company.

Queries on standardised tests like IELTS, SAT, GMAT, GRE along with student visa would be also available through the service, launched in partnership with content provider organisation, Evista Technologies. Speaking at the launching ceremony at a city hotel, GP's chief executive Oddvar Hesjedal said the move would decentralise access to education information from Dhaka. "Studyline will be the most cost-efficient, time-saving means to secure accurate information on queries related to education," he added. The service would cost a caller Tk 15 for the first 3 minutes and Tk 5 per minute onward.

Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid, who launched the service, however, said the charge was a bit too much for the rural population. "I think the relevant people should consider lowering it in future so that the rural people can afford it," he told the gathering. The country's largest mobile-phone operator hopes that through this initiative it would contribute to the overall socio-economic development of the country. People at the rural level will be able to get quick and easy access to information on higher studies, the company said in a press release. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission chairman Zia Ahmed and Evista Technologies CEO Syed Khairul Hassan also spoke on the occasion.

-The Independent