Don’t pressurise guardians for fees: State Minister Kamal

State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder on Tuesday asked the authorities of Monipur High School and College to refrain from putting pressure on the guardians for payment of fees considering the Covid-19 pandemic.

He came up with the request after a meeting with teachers and guardians of Monipur High School and College at Mirpur.

No student should be barred from sitting the examination or promotion due to their failure to pay school fees, he said.

Guardians, who are having financial difficulties, can file personal applications to the school authorities, he said.

He asked the institute's authorities to coordinate with students, guardians and teachers to continue academic activities amid the pandemic.

Covid-19 has hit the economy hard and forced many people down the poverty line. By June, Bangladesh's national poverty rate rose to 29.5 percent as of June, 2020 due to Covid-19 as millions of people lost their jobs. 

A study by Sanem found that about 6-12 million people lost their jobs in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. It had warned that Bangladesh's poverty rate may double to 40.9 percent from that prior to the onset of the pandemic. Economists say the coronavirus outbreak could push about 16.5 million people below the poverty line.