Robi to offer low-cost internet package for university teachers, students

The country's second-largest mobile operator Robi will offer a low-cost internet data package for university teachers and students to support online education.

University Grants Commission (UGC) and Robi Axiata Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) about this on Sunday.

UGC Chairman Professor Kazi Shahidullah said the main barrier to online education is access to device and data, which will be resolved soon with the joint efforts of UGC and the mobile operators.

The new agreement will allow users to get 30GB of data at Tk220, for a month, from Sunday for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, and Gmail.

But this data package will not apply to the use of Netflix, Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter, read a press release.

Also, mobile operators Teletalk and Grameenphone are providing a cheap data package for university teachers and students. UGC signed an MoU with Grameenphone on Thursday.

On November 4, UGC also decided to provide interest-free loans to 41,501 insolvent students of public universities for buying a smartphone to ensure their participation in online classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each student from 39 public universities will get a maximum of Tk8,000 as a soft loan.