COVID-19: Maharashtra to waive college fees for students who lost parents to pandemic

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra Government has announced that undergraduate and postgraduate students whose parents have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be exempt from paying fees till they complete their course.

Maharashtra higher education minister Uday Samant also said that the government has decided to waive fees on utilities not used during the pandemic including sports funds and gymnasia for all students pursuing undergraduation or postgraduation.

Also Read | COVID-19: NCPCR launches portal, guidelines to track orphaned children

Uday samant, through his social media handle,said: “Under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray, the Maharashtra Government has decided to waive the entire fee till the completion of undergraduate / postgraduate education of students whose parents have died due to the outbreak of COVID-19.”

माननीय @CMOMaharashtra
उद्धव साहेब ठाकरे यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली मविआ सरकारने कोविड - १९ च्या प्रादुर्भावामुळे ज्या विद्यार्थी - विद्यार्थिनींचे आई/वडील/पालक मयत झाले असतील अशा विद्यार्थ्यांचे पदवी/पदव्युत्तर शिक्षण पूर्ण होईपर्यंतचे संपूर्ण शुल्क माफ करण्याचा निर्णय घेतला आहे.

— Uday Samant (@samant_uday) June 29, 2021

The minister said that students studying in government and government-aided colleges will not be charged for utilities not in use. However, essential fees such as tuition fees will remain the same.

Also Read | COVID-19: What states have announced for orphaned children

“Expenditure on gymnasiums, various merit/activities, college magazines, computers, sports funds, medical aid funds and youth festivals among other fees of all the courses in the aided colleges and universities is not charged. Decision has been taken to waive charges for those matters,” the minister added.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Government had already announced fixed deposits of Rs 5 lakh in the name of children who have lost at least one parent to COVID-19.

Write to us at news@careers360.com.