Biswajit Saikia. Image: Northeast Now

A youth from Assam’s Darrang district has urged state education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to be considerate towards economically backward students in times of COVID-19 crisis.

Biswajit Saikia, a socially sensitive youth leader and chief of a Mangaldai based NGO called Ramdhenu North East on Saturday said a larger number of students from marginalized families studying from rented accommodation, hostels or as paying guests are facing hardship amid the lockdown.

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In a recent e-mail communication, Saikia has requested minister Sarma to develop a pragmatic mechanism where these section of students may feel some succour and hope to further continuation of their studies.

He also urged upon the state education minister to consider waiving of fees for these students for at least three months starting March last.

Talking to Northeast Now on Saturday Saikia said , “The diabolic virus breakdown in the country has made the functioning of  almost all the business establishments, factories, industries and financial transactions to a halt thereby affecting the regular earnings of the general public along with the parents of the students.”

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“The hardworking students without much help from parents  who used to pay their rents and covered their extra expenses by various honest means including  professional private teaching  and part time jobs, have also met with the ill-fated situation,” he added.

“The students are found to be in a hapless situation to resume their studies aftermath the lockdown as they are unable to pay their dues to the house owners,” he lamented.

“I believe that if the education minister sympathetically considers it and make an appeal to these house owners not to evict the students at least for few months and then release some financial help under waivers’ benefit scheme, then the academic future of these students would be secured,” Saikia added.