It is disturbing to note that Ghorashal Bidyut Unnayan Board (PDB) High School, located in Polash upazila of Narsingdi district, has allegedly collected extortionate admission fees from the students of Classes I to VI this year. According to a report of this newspaper on Monday, teachers of the school have allegedly charged fees ranging from Tk. 15,000 to Tk. 25,000 from the students of Classes I to VI. Polash UNO Vaskor Debnath Bappi observed that high schools cannot collect more than Tk. 2,500 as admission fees from new students of Classes I to VI. What action has the UNO taken against this malpractice?   

 This malpractice of collecting excess admission fees from students is not only confined to the capital and other cities in the country but it is going on in the upazilas and at the grassroots level as well. The country must come out of this sinister culture in the interest of facilitating education for the vast number of children. When high prices of essential commodities have affected the people belonging to the fixed income group adversely high admission fees have come as a blow to them. How many parents and guardians can afford to pay the same? It is a sort of pecuniary and mental torture thrust upon them for no fault of their own. There is no rhyme or reason for collecting high fees from students.   

   Education is one of the basic human rights as enshrined in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But how many people enjoy this right in the country? The overall scenario in the educational arena in the country does not show much promise. When the government has taken various measures for promoting education in the country, including female education, the school dropout problem is a matter of grave concern. Scores of schools in rural areas lack infrastructural facilities and competent teachers, hampering education. Quality education still eludes a huge number of children in the country.  

The malpractice of collecting extortionate admission fees from students must be stopped forthwith. There is no room for foot-dragging and lackadaisical attitude in this vital issue. There should be accountability and transparency in the financial transactions made in the schools. A probe body should be formed by the local administration to investigate the collection of high admission fees from students. If the allegations are found true        the persons responsible should be brought to justice.