ACC drives against extra SSC fees laudable

In December 2017, the High Court declared charging of additional fees beyond that set by the government for SSC and HSC exams illegal. However, despite this, schools in Dhaka have continued charging students extra according to newspaper reports. This has been the practice for years now, and despite drives by Anti-Corruption Commission teams, the practice of taking additional fees has become the norm in these schools. Some schools even charge students exorbitant amounts for sitting for re-tests.

In a recently published story, we reported how despite a drive by the Anti-Corruption Commission on November 11, authorities of Jatrabari High School and College are yet to return the extra Tk 25 lakh they collected from SSC candidates. Though assurances were made by the school that the money would be returned to parents, the amount was instead deposited to the joint bank account of the acting principal and two assistant headmasters. Guardians have also alleged that the school had asked students who failed the test examination as much as Tk 30,000-Tk 40,000 for re-tests. This is beyond absurd, and a clear violation of the law.

Now the authorities have said that the money would be returned within the next few days. Why the delay? And this is not one isolated case: similar stories from other schools in the capital have also been reported recently and in past years.

In this regard, the vigilance of the ACC this year has been exemplary. That even then the practice continues shows how our educational institutions seem to think they could potentially get away with it. This is extortion plain and simple, and we ask that alongside ACC efforts, strict instructions with clear provisions for holding the institutions accountable are communicated to schools from the relevant ministries. There is no reason a student should have to pay beyond the amount set by the government for sitting for a public exam.