The number of schools increases every year, but only a few of them offer quality education. As a result, there is an intense competition among students to seek admission into the leading schools.

Of the over 400 schools in the city, only 24 are government-run and the rest are non-government. The battle for next academic year will be even harder as the number of seats in the few esteemed schools have not been increased.

Explaining the situation, Hamida Ali, the founding principal of South Point School and former principal of Viqarunnisa Noon School, said lack of good schools and efficient teachers in the city create pressure on the reputed schools.

"To be a good school, there must be a constant communication between the teachers, students and the guardians which does not exist in most schools," she said, stressing the need for recruiting qualified teachers in the schools.

Hosne Ara Begum, principal of Azimpur School and College, laid emphasis on quality education and academic discipline in the schools. "Guardians prefer the schools which strictly follow academic discipline," she observed.

Around one lakh fresh students get admitted to schools every year, according to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The reputed schools receive 8-10 times more applications than the seats available.

Almost one fourth of admission seekers fails to get a chance in their preferred schools. Facing the tough competition, the guardians send their children to coaching centres to prepare for the admission tests that usually begin in January every year.

Many renowned schools receive a large sum as donation for admission. It is alleged a section of members of school managing committees also take bribes from the guardians to ensure admission of the children through backdoor.

"In 2003 I tried to get my son admitted to a prominent school by providing him with good tutors, guide books and coaching, but he did not get the chance. Then I managed everything by paying Tk 50,000 to a managing committee member," said one guardian.

He said he had to do it for the sake of his son's better education and future, though he knows it is quite unfair. The amount of donation or "bribe" ranges from Tk 30,000 to more than Tk 1 lakh in various schools, he said.

The guardians alleged that this situation has occurred due to the use of political power to influence the managing committees of the renowned schools.

When asked, Shaheda Obaed, chairman of Dhaka Education Board, said, "All schools should be free from politics that hampers education." She stressed the need for proficient teachers and efficient administration in the schools.

Most of the reputed schools have already begun their admission procedure. Viqarunnisa Noon School has already started distributing application forms and will continue until tomorrow. A large number of guardians are collecting the forms.

"To avoid the huge crowd I stood in the queue at 3:00am," said Mejbaul Haq, a guardian.

Azimpur Girls' School and College will begin the admission process from today while Holy Cross School from November 30 and South Point School from December 10.

Other schools including Monipur High School, University Laboratory School, Willes Little Flower High Secondary School and Ideal School will start admission process in December after completing the year-final exams.