If middle class people are required to part with a big part of the family income on pricey but mainly superficially attractive English medium schools, then the same is as inconsolable as it represents a silly drain of precious resources

Guardians face financial exploitation

A recent media report stated that English medium schools in the city  can charge session fees ranging from  Taka 12,000 to Taka 8,00,000 per student. Of course there are all types of English medium schools  like the ones to be found in almost every street corner to their bigger and more reputed versions and the fully foreign owned and operated  bodies. But the common feature of all of them is the exorbitant or highly unjustified fees they exact from the students compared to their Bengali medium equivalents.
The English schools in most cases are not really far better in every  sense than the Bengali medium ones.  The smaller number of them are truly very good institutions. But gullible people are captivated by their false glamour and a thinking that their children would steal a march or acquire an edge over children from Bengali medium schools by enrolling  in them. Thus, no amount of  financial sacrifice  can turn them way from these schools.
The  fact that the English medium school fever has caught also the ordinary middle class segments of society is the point of worry. The middle class are already tormented from having to make ends meet from the rising costs of living. If in these circumstances, they are regularly required to part with a big part of the family income on pricey but mainly superficially attractive English medium  schools, then the same is as inconsolable as it represents a silly drain of precious resources.
Not only the annual session fees, there are also other high charges to be paid during admission and throughout the school year. Some of these schools call the annual session fee as readmission fee and take higher sums. In every way,  the students or the guardians  are  hugely burdened by these forms of their financial exploitation at the hands of the operators of the English medium schools.
Fairness dictates that the affairs  of these schools--particularly the unreasonable  fees charged by them --should be under appropriate regulation. And not only in the area of  fees, the regulation should also extend to rating them for performance and fulfilling other criterion to retain the permission to operate.

The writer is a contributor  to theindependent. The views expressed by the writer above  are his very own

If middle class people are required to part with a big part of the family income on pricey but mainly superficially attractive English medium schools, then the same is as inconsolable as it represents a silly drain of precious resources

Guardians face financial exploitation

A recent media report stated that English medium schools in the city can charge session fees ranging from Taka 12,000 to Taka 8,00,000 per student. Of course there are all types of English medium schools like the ones to be found in almost every street corner to their bigger and more reputed versions and the fully foreign owned and operated bodies. But the common feature of all of them is the exorbitant or highly unjustified fees they exact from the students compared to their Bengali medium equivalents. The English schools in most cases are not really far better in every sense than the Bengali medium ones. The smaller number of them are truly very good institutions. But gullible people are captivated by their false glamour and a thinking that their children would steal a march or acquire an edge over children from Bengali medium schools by enrolling in them. Thus, no amount of financial sacrifice can turn them way from these schools. The fact that the English medium school fever has caught also the ordinary middle class segments of society is the point of worry. The middle class are already tormented from having to make ends meet from the rising costs of living. If in these circumstances, they are regularly required to part with a big part of the family income on pricey but mainly superficially attractive English medium schools, then the same is as inconsolable as it represents a silly drain of precious resources. Not only the annual session fees, there are also other high charges to be paid during admission and throughout the school year. Some of these schools call the annual session fee as readmission fee and take higher sums. In every way, the students or the guardians are hugely burdened by these forms of their financial exploitation at the hands of the operators of the English medium schools. Fairness dictates that the affairs of these schools--particularly the unreasonable fees charged by them --should be under appropriate regulation. And not only in the area of fees, the regulation should also extend to rating them for performance and fulfilling other criterion to retain the permission to operate. The writer is a contributor to theindependent. The views expressed by the writer above are his very own