Action will be taken if extra fee is not refunded within 7 days: Education Minister

The Dhaka Times Desk Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has announced that action will be taken against those who have disobeyed the government's instructions and collected extra fees if they do not return the extra fees within 7 days, despite repeated warnings from the government.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has set a deadline of 7 days to return the extra money collected from students in private educational institutions as salary and fees and during filling of SSC forms.

He said that the money should be returned to the students and the education board should be informed about it. If the money is not returned within 7 days, action will be taken as per the directions of the High Court.

It should be noted that the salary of students in most of the private schools and colleges in Dhaka and Chittagong has been increased at a large rate at the beginning of the new year, citing the reason of increasing the salary of government employees in the new salary structure. The parents took to the streets in protest. In this context, on January 17, the Ministry of Education ordered not to collect the increased salary and fees.

According to the order of the Ministry of Education, monthly salary and other fees are being collected from the students in various private educational institutions at an increased rate without the direction of the government. Due to which there has been a backlash among students and parents. According to the regulations of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (the governing body and managing committee of secondary and higher secondary level private educational institutions) the management level of all related institutions should be determined subject to the instructions of the government.

In such a context, all concerned institutions have been directed to immediately stop collection of increased salary and other fees of the students till further orders. Earlier, on December 1 last year, the High Court ordered to take action against those who asked for the prescribed fee for filling the SSC form. The court issued that rule after seeing the report published in the newspaper regarding the collection of additional fee for filling the form.

The order states that the students who have been charged extra amount of fees as prescribed by the board, will report this in writing to their respective education boards. The court ordered the boards to take immediate action in this regard. The court also directed the chairman of the board to give a report stating what measures have been taken.

The education minister told reporters at the secretariat that we have the list of those who have taken the money. Even though we are giving time, the names of those who return will not be kept in the list. But if the money is not returned within 7 days, action will be taken against those institutions.