Sagar Biswas :
Admission and readmission businesses are going on in full-swing in different private schools and kindergartens for the year 2016 putting additional burden on the shoulders of guardians for charging extra fees.
December is the month of admission and readmission. And taking advantage of the government’s relax mood, the private schools and kindergartens fix tuition, admission and readmission fees as their wish and raise the amount every year. This year is not an exception. Several private schools and kindergartens have already increased monthly tuition fess up to Tk 500-1000.
Not only that, some are charging extra Tk 3000-10,000 as development fees even during the readmission. Most of these schools are also taking monthly Tk 2500- 3000 for coaching fess for class five and class eight students in the name of PSC and JSC exams. But they do not arrange extra coaching class. Regular class is considered there as special coaching class.
Sources in the Directorate of Primary Education [DPE] said, the government has yet not fully enforced the registration rule for the kindergarten schools which was promulgated in 2011. “The rule cannot be enforced mainly due to the objection from the schools’ owners and a nexus between them and the ministry officials,” said a DPE official requesting not to be named.
Primary and Mass Education Minister Musrafizur Rahman Fizar, however, refrained from making any comment over the issue despite repeated attempts last night.
Former State Minister and President of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Motahar Hossain told The New Nation on Thursday, “We only see the examination process and distribution of the certificates in PSC level. Other matter is totally in the hands of Education Ministry.”
Though unbelievable, about 1 00, 000 kindergartens are flouting government rules on mandatory registration and running without adequate classroom facilities depriving students of proper education. Nearly 400 such schools, out of an estimated 1 00,000, have registered with the DPE till the date, according to officials.
Meanwhile, the kindergarten schools have been mushrooming all over the capital due to non- implementation of the registration rule. Anyone can find such an institution even at the union or village level. Some kindergarten schools have extended their curriculum even to class 10 [SSC] to class 12 [HSC], although they have no such facility.
At present, anyone can establish a kindergarten or private school just by obtaining a trade licence from the city corporation office. There are widespread allegations that these schools are lack of proper teaching facilities and employ unqualified teachers.
According to government rules, the Divisional Deputy Directors of the DPE would visit the kindergartens or schools to inspect whether these are qualified for registration. In fact, it is an impractical directive. It is almost impossible for seven Divisional Deputy Directors to visit all kindergartens in the areas before giving registration.
“The fact is that these schools are failing to provide quality education, but they are taking extra fees each and every year in the name of different development projects. Now, there is a new trend to take additional fees in the name of coaching class…This is disgusting,” said Sanaul Haque, father of a student, who reads in Banaphool Adibashi Green Heart College in Mirpur.
Although, the ministry has set standard that a school should have a student-teacher ratio of 30:1 and must be built on 0.08 acres of land with at least 3,000sq-ft of space within the campus. But the real scenario is different. In fact, it is almost impossible to see any school in the capital city Dhaka where the rule has been followed by hundred per cent.
‘These kindergartens usually don’t follow lessons from books which are approved by National Curriculum and Textbook Board. Rather, they use books written either by Indian writers or English speaking writers. Some kindergartens unnecessarily suggest a number of books not considering the age of children,” said Abul Kalam Azad, guardian of a student who reads in Preparatory Grammar School in Mirpur.
Besides, there is a rule that every school must have a managing committee comprising guardian and teacher representatives, with the headmaster as the member secretary. The head teacher of the nearest government school is also required to be a committee member.
This rule is also not followed properly. The owners, local political leaders and businessmen rule the managing body of these schools. These managing committees recruit substandard teachers and charge extra fees from students for admission and readmission in the name of development fees.
When contacted, Director General of the DPE Mohammad Alamgir said that they were discussing the issues with kindergarten owners and would soon take initiatives to enforce the rules. “The Non-government primary both Bangla and English medium School Registration Rules, 2011 was enacted in August the same year,” he said.
