Guardians protest high fees

Students of Monipur School form a human chain in Mirpur in the capital yesterday demanding refund of the excess money the school took as fees and protesting corruption by school officials.Photo: STAR

Students and guardians yesterday staged demonstrations before Monipur High School and College main branch at Mirpur, and Shewrapara branch, in the capital, protesting high admission fee charged by the school authorities.
They also demanded that the education minister remove lawmaker Kamal Ahmed Majumder from the school managing committee.
The crowds in front of the schools were also seen chanting slogans against the MP, who is the president of the managing committee, for his involvement in irregularities centring on student admission.
Putting up barricades, more than 2,000 guardians and students with banners held human chains on both sides of Begum Rokeya Sarani near the school's Shewrapara branch.
During the four-hour long protest programme there from around 8:00am, guardians said the government had fixed the highest admission fee for city schools at Tk 5,000, but the Monipur school management authority was charging students Tk 25,500 in violation of the government order.
"The huge increase in the admission fee was aimed at swelling the MP's pockets," a guardian said.
Later, police were deployed on and outside the school premises to maintain law and order. The demonstration ended without any untoward incidents but led to huge traffic congestion on Begum Rokeya Sarani.
Meanwhile, students of Monipur High School and College's main branch and their guardians gathered in front of the school at Mirpur-2 around 9:00am.
Holding placards and banners, they formed a human chain, which later turned into a demonstration.
Students and guardians in yesterday's demonstrations criticised lawmaker Kamal Majumder for assaulting a female reporter of private television channel Rtv on January 2.
The female journalist on the day came to the Shewrapara branch to make a report on high admission fee.
Refuting the allegation of assaulting the reporter, the Awami League MP that day claimed he had not touched the reporter and that she along with a local quarter had been engaged in a conspiracy against him and the school.
On January 5, Kamal Majumder reportedly forced students and teachers of Monipur school and some other local schools to hold a human chain in protest against the "conspiracy".