Two schools to adjust additional amount

Two private schools in the capital have announced they would adjust the additional money they had collected as tuition fees with the fees for February in compliance with a government order.

Viqarunnisa Noon School and College yesterday sent a letter to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DHSE), saying that they have decided to adjust the additional money they took from Class-I students with the tuition fees for February.

However, the letter signed by its principal Sufia Khatun did not say anything about other classes, said an official, citing the letter.

Viqarunnisa, one of the most-sought after schools for girls, increased tuition fees from Tk 800 to Tk 1,500 for Class-I to V, and Tk 900 to Tk 1,700 for Class-VII to IX.

The authorities of Willes Little Flower School and College on Wednesday sent text messages to guardians saying that they would adjust the additional money with the tuition fees of February, said a guardian who received the message.

On February 3, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid warned of taking legal action against the private educational institutions if they fail to return within seven working days the additional money they had collected as tuition fees and registration fees for the SSC examinations.

The deadline ends on February 14.

The minister asked all the education boards to make lists of institutions failing to comply with the directives.

A number of renowned private schools in Dhaka and Chittagong suddenly hiked the monthly tuition and admission fees in January, citing teachers' demand for a pay increase after the government approved the new pay scale for civil servants.

The sudden rise in monthly tuition fees triggered outrage among guardians.

Following this, the education ministry asked the school authorities to stop collecting the increased fees until further notice.

The DHSE in an investigation found seven renowned non-government schools hiked tuition fees between 11 percent and 100 percent.