COVID-19: Assam: Govt Directs Private Schools to Slash Fees by 50% in March

Guwahati, April 22, 2020:

Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the Education Department has directed all the private schools in the state to slash the fees of students upto class 12 in the month of March by 50% amid the COVID-19 outbreak. If some body has already collected the fees, it will be deducted in the month of May, Sarma said.

Sarma also said that the schools cannot increase fees without informing the Government. "As long as corona pandemic continues, no school can raise fees without prior approval of Government", he said, adding, "there is no scope for Government giving the permission till now".

ALSO READ: COVID-19 Lockdown Cripples Farming Economy of Assam ahead of Monsoons

The Minister further said that the violation of these rules will result in the closure of the schools in question. "We will close down that school under the Disaster Management Act", Sarma said.

Furthermore, Sarma said that no private schools can cut the salaries of their teachers and employees.

Addressing the press here today, Sarma further added that 1 lakh 2 thousand and seventy two people from Assam who are stranded elsewhere have been provided with assistance by the administration. The target audience, Sarma said, is 4 lakh. "However, several do not have bank accounts while some have given the accounts of their friends", he added.

700 volunteers are now pinging the people who did not send their own account numbers, and the Minister urged those who gave the incorrect information to reach out to the administration and send their account numbers to the Government.

A second installment, Sarma said, will be paid to the beneficiaries of Assam Cares before May 3.

Note: 20 cr 45 lakh has been distributed among stranded Assamese citizens.

Sarma also informed that Assam has not seen any new cases of the COVID-19 in the past 1 week. "34 Patients were infected, 19 have been released, 1 patient was release, and 14 patients are admintted. If we look at the numbers, the percentage of deaths is 2.94%", Sarma said, shedding further light on the numbers.

5,789 people -- including many from Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya -- have been tested across the state, Sarma said. "While 34 have tested positive, 214 results are awaited", he said.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.