Students call three-day strike at all private institutions starting from Saturday

Students have announced a three-day strike starting from Saturday at all private institutions across Bangladesh, dubbing the government’s assurance regarding VAT on tuition fee ‘a shrewd move’.

Jotirmoy Chakrabarty, the coordinator of the agitating students’ platform ‘No VAT on Education’, announced the protest programme at a press briefing on Friday.

“We will go on strike, demanding an immediate withdrawal of VAT on tuition fee and the formulation of a policy to fix the tuition fee at private universities through the University Grants Commission (UGC),” he said.
 
Chakrabarty added that all private universities, and medical and engineering colleges would be on strike until Monday.
 
The press conference was held at Stamford University’s Dhanmondi campus, followed by a protest procession by students in the area.

The students have been protesting since the government imposed a 7.5 percent VAT on tuition fee at private universities, and medical and engineering colleges in the budget for 2015-16 fiscal.
 
After Wednesday’s clash between East West University students and police during demonstrations at Rampura, agitated students of the private universities brought Dhaka to its knees on Thursday by taking it to the streets and crippling traffic.
 
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) in the afternoon same day issued a clarification.
 
It said the universities would pay the government this tax at the set rate from the tuitions fees they charge their students. VAT would not be separately realised from the students, it added.
 
The statement also clarified that there was ‘no scope’ to hike the tuition fees.
 
Finance Minister AMA Muhith, who has been critical of the demonstrating students, spoke in same vein around the same time.
 
“The universities will have to pay the money. They can easily pay it since they charge students high (fees). But they won’t be able to hike any fee,” he said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, too, in Parliament later in the evening, said, “The students won’t have to pay VAT. The university authorities will pay. They have admitted it.”
 
But the assurances from the NBR and government failed to satisfy the students.
 
Jotirmoy Chakrabarty on Friday told bdnews24.com: “The explanation from the government and NBR is very shrewd. Education is a basic right. We want no VAT imposed on it.”
 
He feared that the university authorities would realise the VAT from the students by increasing the different services charge and tuition fee in future.