Kamrul Hasan, a private sector salaryman residing in the city’s Badda area, used to spend Tk 12,000 on average per month on education for his two children a year ago, now he spends Tk 20,000 monthly.
His son and daughter study in Class IX and Class VII respectively at a MPO-registered privately-owned school in Dhaka. Though government schools are far cheaper, they occupy only around five per cent of the country’s school system. This issue makes getting into such schools difficult.
Kamrul, and crores of parents just like him, is unwilling and unable to compromise the education of his children, thereby putting their future at risk. But the rising educational expense of schoolchildren is putting parents on a stranglehold.
Though he received a slight increment in 2022, Kamrul has barely been able to keep up with the rising living costs in the capital city.
Detailing his predicament, the stressed father said, “I hired home tutors for Tk 4,000 each in 2022. I now pay Tk 7,000 to tutors for each of my two children. Their school fees, and costs associated with school dress, tiffin, rickshaw fare and other expenses also increased.
“My monthly salary is Tk 40,000. But I spend around Tk 20,000 to cover my children’s educational expenses. I reduced my family expenses but my salary no longer covers my monthly costs. I have serious concerns about my family’s future.”
Expenditure in children’s education has soared across Bangladesh in recent years. Most schools are charging abnormal fees citing almost a dozen expenses the parents must cover to keep their children in schools.
Many schools are now charging the parents gas, water, generator, legal, software, lab, and milad/puja fees.
Nur-e-Alam, another parent, said, “Educational expenses of my children, along with my family’s daily expenses, have turned into a burden for me. Both are rising steadily. We cannot survive without government intervention in this regard.”
A grim situation
According to Campaign for Popular Education’s (CAMPE) Education Watch Report 2022, Students extensively relied upon private tutoring and commercial guidebooks to cope with learning losses and gaps.
The huge dependency on private tutoring may reflect the continued privatisation and marketisation of education. It also increases the families’ out of pocket costs and exacerbates the educational disparities.
Meanwhile, the UNESCO 2021-22 Global Education Monitoring Report points out that the average expenditure on education increased by a staggering 80 per cent in real terms. Around 7 per cent of families in Bangladesh have to borrow to send their children to school.
Speaking to The Business Post, Bangladesh Tutor Provider Association (BTPA) leaders say tuition fees have more than doubled due to the increase in essential commodity prices, home rent and other costs of living.
Md Mainul Islam, executive member of the BTPA and also the owner of Tutors' Club, said, “The guardians request low cost tutors from us. But now-a-days, the demand for tutors is high. Many who want to become private tutors are students who want to cover their educational expenses.
"Most of these students are from the under-graduate level and they could do two-three tuitions per day. They need at least Tk 15,000 to cover their own educational expenses. So, they cannot take up tuition for less than Tk 6,000.”
Paying through the nose
Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, a Monthly Pay Order (MPO) listed and well reputed institution in Dhaka, charges Tk 3,000 as session charge, 1,300 as tuition fee per month, Tk 1,500 as development charge biannually for a Class V student.
The school also charges T k300 as software charge, rules and diary Tk 200, milad/puja Tk 150, library and card Tk200, festival, cultural and games Tk 500, calendar and syllabus Tk 150 and Magazine fee Tk 250.
Most of the reputed institutions such as South Point School and College, Ideal School and College, Monipur High School and College, and Mirpur Girls' Ideal Laboratory Institute are charging extra fees, which is steadily becoming burdensome to the guardians.
BIAM Laboratory School charges each student Tk 700 SMS fee, Tk 100 computer lab fee and Tk 100 teachers and staff welfare fund fee.
Guardians pay tuition fees through mobile banking at Willes Little Flower School and College. As a result, the school does not show the fees separately. But the guardians said the school charges ICT fees even from kindergarten students.
Monipur High School and College also charges fees through mobile banking, but does not show the fees separately.
ANM Shamsul Alam Khan, principal (acting) said his school charges only Tk 35 as ICT fee. When asked about the school charging ICT fees from kindergarten students, he said the institution reconsiders this fee if a guardian submits a request.
The Business Post tried to reach out to Viqarunnisa Noon School and College Acting Principal Keka Roy Chowdhury on phone for comments on the matter, but she could not be reached till the filing of this report.
Md Abdul Majid Sujon, general secretary of Guardians' Forum at Viqarunnisa Noon School & College, said, “Since the Covid-19 crisis, we have been demanding a reduction of tuition fees. But the authorities are yet to meet our demand.
“The fees we have to pay are actually rising day by day.”
What does the UNESCO report say?
About 4.5 crore students from the pre-primary to higher education levels are enrolled in nearly two lakh educational institutions across the country. About 40 lakh of them are studying at higher educational institutions.
In Bangladesh, the share of urban households paying for private tuition increased from 48 per cent in 2000 to 67 per cent in 2010, while the corresponding share of rural households doubled from 27 per cent to 54 per cent.
For the poorest quartile it quadrupled from 10 per cent to 40 per cent, according to the UNESCO 2021/2 Global Education Monitoring Report.
Almost two-thirds of the total cost of education is covered by households in Bangladesh, while only one-third is by the government – the fourth highest per cent covered by households in the world after Haiti, Nigeria, and Liberia.
In this regard, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Director General Prof Nehal Ahmed said, “We have asked the authorities to charge only logical and minimum fees. We are trying to bring all the educational institutions under strict discipline.”
‘Education ministry should concentrate’
Prof Dr Siddiqur Rahman, former director of Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University, said, “The guardians – especially the middle class segment of population – are navigating through a difficult time as their income barely covers their expenses.
“As a result, they cut their daily expenses to cover their children’s education.”
The education ministry should concentrate on schools’ fees and other unnecessary expenses in education. They can ask the teachers to teach efficiently so that the students have no need to go to coaching centres or private tuitions.
Dr Manzoor Ahmed, professor Emeritus of Brac University, said, “The government must increase allocation in the education sector and reduce the guardians’ financial burden. The education ministry also should prepare a list of schools who charge illogical fees.
“The ministry should monitor out-of-pocket education expenditures of families in household income and expenditure surveys.”
