A meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on primary and mass education ministry at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, revealing the latest development, recommended stern action against the NGOs, including money refund, registration cancellation and legal action, if necessary.

"The ministry has warned other NGOs to make them work better. If they fail, they will also be blacklisted," Professor Jahan Ara Begum, advisor to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on mass and primary education, told The Daily Star after the meeting.

Ministry officials told the meeting that the local NGOs in 23 districts were designated to provide educational material, teachers' salary, training and furniture for teaching centres, but the quality of their work fell far short of expectations.

The fund was channelled to the NGOs from different projects to cut illiteracy, they said.

"As the NGOs did not deliver their designated tasks properly, we asked the ministry to take stern action against them," Nurul Islam Moni, a committee member, told reporters.

Committee Chairman Helalu-zzaman Talukdar Lalu presided over the meeting, also attended by other committee members.