M M Jasim :The Education Ministry is going to dismiss the managing committees of 1209 schools on account of their refusal to execute the direction of the ministry to return the extra fees which was taken from the students violating the rules. On February 25, the ministry also served notice on the schools as to why stern action, including dismissal of the managing committees, would not be taken. The ministry asked the school authorities to submit their explanation within 30 days. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said this in a press briefing held in the ministry’s Conference Hall on Sunday. “The Education Ministry has served show-cause notices on 1,209 educational institutions, including many top ranking ones, for not responding to the ministry about the allegation of taking extra admission fees,” he said. “It does not matter which institutions are powerful and which are not. All are the same to us. Therefore, same law will be applicable for all,” Nahid said.If they do not respond to the show-cause notices or the ministry finds their answer unsatisfactory, the government will act as per the High Court order in this regard, the minister warned.A report prepared by education boards, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) and other government agencies was submitted with a list of institutions who took extra fees, who returned and who did not take it, he said.Around 3,038 institutions all over the country took extra fees, of which 830 have returned the money, Nahid said.A total of 999 institutions did not take any extra fees, the minister said. The government is investigating these claims, he said.Meanwhile, the officials of the ministry said, some powerful institutions think,it is not mandatory to follow the ministry’s rules as some influential persons are behind the schools. But when the ministry took hard line, they are lobbying with the high-ups of the government.Some officials also said that it would be very difficult for the ministry to take stern action against the faulty schools because most of the schools are running with the backing of the pro-Awami League leaders. On the other hand, when asked about the schools who returned extra fees, the minister was reluctant to say anything. Nahid on February 3 issued a seven-day deadline to the private schools and colleges to refund the extra fees collected from students and asked all the boards to make lists of institutions failing to comply with.
