School Tuition Fee: Instalment can be an option if amount is big

Education Minister Dipu Moni has said the school authorities concerned can allow guardians to pay tuition fees in instalments if those are big.

She said no one can realise fees from a student or a guardian while handing outassignments to students and submission of those.

The minister was speaking to reporters at Chandpur Circuit House after inaugurating the construction work of a school building yesterday.

"Schools reopened after a long closure. So many students might not have deposited tuition and other fees. If tuition fees are high, school authorities can allow guardians to pay those in instalments," Dipu Moni said.

She urged guardians capable of paying tuition fees to pay it regularly.

In-person classes at schools and colleges resumed on September 12 after the educational institutions remained shut for 543 days due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Candidates of HSC and SSC exams of 2021 and 2022 and this year's Primary Education Completion Examination and its equivalent exams are now attending classes every day.

Students of grades 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 are joining in-person classes once a week.

However, students of grades 8 and 9 will have to attend classes in person two days a week from Monday, said Belal Hossain, director of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education.

Students of pre-primary sections like playgroup and nursery will not have to return to classrooms for now.

Dipu Moni yesterday also said there was no link between realising money and giving assignments to students and submission of those.

Educational institutions were closed across the country on March 17 last year to curb the spread of Covid-19. The closure led to cancellation of classes and examinations, throwing the academic life of more than four crore students of around 1.5 lakh educational institutions in disarray.

To recoup the academic loss, the government launched TV educational programmes on the state-run Sangsad channel for secondary and primary students.

Later, it asked all schools, colleges, and universities to introduce online classes. Assignments were also handed out to secondary-level students.