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Students suffer as banks
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been preparing for a Canadian university for the last two years.
“If it gets canceled, then it would be so frustrating for me, for my families,” he added. He went to three other banks to open a new student profile, but those banks too responded in the negative, citing the current dollar crisis.
Previously, there was a rumour that Bangladesh Bank had directed commercial banks not to open student files. But the current spokesperson for the central bank, Md Mezbaul Haque, told The Daily Star, “We have not issued any such order. We only instructed them to operate on the basis of sufficient funds.”
These banks, who cannot open new files, might be facing a fund crunch, he added.
Foyez Uddin Sarkar, a senior executive of Premier Bank’s Elephant Road branch, said, “We are in trouble as we don’t have enough funds due to the ongoing dollar crisis.”
Sarkar, however, hoped the situation would return to normal by January.
The bank are taking a conservative approach to opening profiles due to the dollar crunch, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer of MTB. While his bank would open 30-40 accounts a month, it has brought down the number to 5-6.
“We haven’t stopped it entirely. We are opening the account on the basis of importance,” he said. “For example, if a student wants to go to Oxford or Harvard, he or she can definitely open the file.”
Standard Chartered Bank is an exception in this regard.
Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer of SCB, said, “We have not stopped processing student files. In fact, we have doubled the number compared to last year. We have set up dedicated desks to provide assistance to students and parents.”
According to Bangladesh Bank, in the 2021-22 fiscal year, $414.50 million were sent abroad for education related services .
UNESCO’s “Global Flow of Tertiary Students” report says a staggering 49,151 Bangladeshi students left the country for higher education in 2021.
“In the last fiscal year, the City Bank played a key role in opening student files. Although this is now a peak moment for admissions globally, we cannot help students properly right now,” said a top official of the City Bank, requesting to be anonymous.
As such, students’ futures remain bleak. For many they’re on the edge of missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime.

From ‘digital’
FROM PAGE 1
NM Zeaul Alam also spoke at the programme.
Earlier, Hasina distributed prizes among the winners of the quiz competition. Each of the winners received a laptop, mobile phone set and certificate.
A documentary on Digital Bangladesh was also screened at the programme.
There, Hasina inaugurated Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park in Rajshahi and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center in Barishal through digital authentication.
She also unveiled a graphic novel based on the life sketch of Sheikh Kamal, and a publication on Digital Bangladesh.
The PM also distributed Digital Bangladesh Award among the winners.

Quarter-final over, now time
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Quader joined the event virtually.
Meanwhile, six leaders and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) were injured in a clash with a group of AL men over the seating arrangement at the programme.
Police charged batons to bring the situation under control.
Chuadanga Police Superintendent Abdullah Al Mamun said, “I’ve come to know the matter through video footage. We will look into the matter.”