Financial supports must for the distressed students: Rajshahi mayor

RAJSHAHI, Feb 17 (BSS): Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation Mosaddique Hossain Bulbul has urged upon all concerned to ensure financial supports towards the distressed students for facilitating their educational activities.

He said the city corporation is very much positive to bring all the children under educational arena for freeing the nation from the curse of illiteracy and sought a collective effort to make the endeavor a total success.

Mayor Bulbul stated this while disbursing bank cheques of education grants among the students from poor and extreme poor communities at two separate places in the city yesterday as the chief guest.

Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) under its 'Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Project (UPPRP)' hosted the grant disbursing ceremony, where Taka 0.38 million were disbursed among 213 students.

Mayor Bulbul urged upon the cheque-recipients to put in their level best efforts for making the underprivileged children educated after the best uses of the grants for making them competent human resources.

He told the meeting that more than 3,324 dropout students from the distressed and underprivileged communities in the city are getting financial grants worth around Taka 17.9 million for continuing their institutional learning in the city.

Grants of Taka 6.43 million have, so far, been disbursed while disbursement of the rest Taka 4.288 million will be completed by next June.

In his welcome speech, UPPRP Town Manager Ershadul Haque said the project is being implemented aimed at improving the living and livelihood condition of around three lakh poor and extreme poor people, especially women and girls, in the Rajshahi city by 2015.

UNDP in association with UKaid and UNHabitat extends financial and technical support to the project.

Taking part in the open discussion, the community people proposed that primary and secondary education should be given more priority so that the dropouts could be reduced to a greater extent.