5-fold hike likely in tuition fees
Tuition fees in public colleges, universities and medical colleges would increase fivefold in the next fiscal year, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.
“Tuition fees in colleges is now Tk 12 and in universities Tk 16. It is absurd. There will be a fivefold hike,” Muhith told reporters after a pre-budget meeting with NGOs at National Economic Council (NEC) auditorium in the planning ministry.
The minister, however, said tuition fees in public schools would not be hiked.
“In government institutions you do not pay any money but when you go to a private university you pay hundreds of takas …” the minister said.
Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury in the meeting said tuition fees in government medical colleges should be increased to a point where a student pays at least Tk 500 every six months.
Muhith also said he planned to stop production of bidi [a type of cheap cigarette] in two years as it was “very dangerous to public health”.
“I want this [banned].” But bidi has strong lobbyists, he said. “More than half the MPs support it. They write letters to me. I don't know why they do this.”
The argument that many workers are employed in the bidi factories is baseless, he claimed, terming the industry “dead and fraudulent”.
He also observed that the sector provided only Tk 20 crore in taxes each year.
Zafrullah recommended reducing taxes on medical equipment to cut healthcare costs. Between 20 and 60 percent duties are imposed on the imports of medical equipment, he pointed out.
He also recommended making it compulsory for intern doctors to work in rural areas for at least a year.
Muhith said he supports Zafrullah's proposal but it was not possible for him alone to implement it. He said the health ministry would have to make a decision in this regard.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, former adviser to a caretaker government, recommended allocating 18 percent of the budget to education sector and then gradually raising it to 20 percent.
Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation Shaheen Anam stressed the need for forming a directorate for development of children.
She also recommended increased allocation for marginalised communities and setting up a monitoring mechanism to ensure the allotted funds were spent for the target group.
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