Colleges charging unauthorised 'extra' fees from examinees

The authorities of Dimla Women's College in Nilphamari district finally gave in to the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) candidates' demand not to realise unauthorised fees for filling up the forms for the examinations to be held in April next year.
Announcing December 24 as the last date for filling up HSC examination forms, the college authority had asked the students to fill up the forms within December 23-24 and demanded much higher than the board approved fees for the purpose, reports our correspondent.
As the students refused to pay additional fees and refrained from filling up form on those days, the college authorities set December 26 as 'final date' for filling up the form, saying that it was a special arrangement on Friday.
All the HSC students came to the college that day but only those who could pay additional fees were allowed to fill up the forms.
The students burst into protest and some of them proceeded to lock the principal's office.
The principal stealthily left the office, postponing form filling up work at the college.
As the principal came to the college yesterday, agitating students and their guardians besieged him and demanded withdrawal of his unreasonable decision.
Finding no way, the principal allowed the examinees to fill up forms by depositing the board approved fees.
The college authority had pressed the students to deposit Tk 3530 instead of Tk 2030 as board fee for science students, Tk 2890 instead of Tk 1510 for business studies students and Tk 3020 instead of Tk 2030 for humanities students, said students and college office sources.
Mokhlesur Rahman, principal of Dimla Women's College said, "We decided to take a bit additional money as college development fee, online fee, coaching fee and others. Now we have cancelled the decision and taking only the fees fixed by board."
Three hundred and fifteen examinees, including 192 regular and 123 irregular ones, are supposed to appear in the next year's HSC examinations from the college.
Shafikul Islam, district education officer of Nilphamari, said departmental action will be taken if authorities of any college take higher than the board approved fees from their HSC candidates.
In Lalmonirhat, poor guardians are upset as excessive fees are being realised from the HSC examination candidates by college authorities in five upazilas reports our correspondent.
Guardian of a candidate from Mahiskhocha School and College sent a complaint in this regard to the education minister on 25 December.
Mahishkhocha School and College office sources said, of the 153 candidates of the college in Aditmari upazila, most come from the poor families.
Students and their guardians claimed the college authorities were taking Tk 2550 from the examinees of the science and commerce and Tk 2450 from humanities groups that are much higher than the charges fixed by the education board.
However, refuting the complaint of charging excessive fees, principal Sarwar Alam said, the college was collecting only session and other fees from the candidates besides their examination fees.
This correspondent visited several other colleges where the guardians and candidates made similar complaints of realising excessive fees.