The Association of Non-Government Universities of Bangladesh (ANUB) yesterday made its case for the revocation of a proposed 7.5% VAT that the government wants to levy on private universities, at a press briefing at the Gulshan Club.
ANUB president, Sheikh Kabir, told the media: “The Association urges the government to reconsider the imposition of VAT on private universities or their students.
“Even if no tuition is raised, then any VAT taken from the institutions will still effectively be taking away resources that could have been used for the good of the faculty and students.
“Also, as student tuition is the main source of income for the universities, therefore it is hard to see how taking the VAT from the universities won’t eventually affect the students.”
Private university students protesting against the tax announced yesterday that demonstrations would continue on Sunday at all private universities across the country unless the government withdrew the VAT on education. One of the chapters of the student protest platform announced that a three-day strike would be held from today.
ANUB asked students to keep all protests completely peaceful and called on them to avoid inconveniencing the public at large.
Student protest platform “No VAT on Education” made the announcement yesterday at a press conference, at which the group of disgruntled university students accused the government of staging a drama with its clarification on Thursday about who would be responsible for paying the 7.5% VAT.
The group was referring to a press notice issued by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and mass texted as a public service announcement that stated that the VAT would be levied on university authorities and not students.
Speaking at the press conference in the capital’s Aftabnagar neighbourhood, Salauddin Mithu, a student protester from East West University, said: “Private university students will continue their protest from Sunday on their own campuses unless the government withdraws the VAT on education by Sunday.
“We demand the withdrawal of all sorts of VAT on education. With due respect, we are rejecting the government clarification which said that VAT would be paid by the private universities and not the students, as the VAT will later be collected from us under the name of other fees.”
The students also demanded punishment for those who attacked a demonstration by East West University students on Wednesday.
Three-day strike
In a separate announcement, the Stamford University chapter of the “No VAT on Education” platform said all private university students would go on a three-day strike from Saturday.
“From tomorrow [Saturday] we will go on a three-day strike on our own campuses across the country, demanding the withdrawal of the VAT on education and calling for the University Grants Commission to come up with a policy to fix private university tuition fees in accordance with the country’s income scenario,” Jotirmoy Chakrabarty, one of the Stamford student protesters, announced yesterday on behalf of other demonstrators.
Earlier yesterday, students of Stamford University’s Dhanmondi campus staged demonstrations in the area to press home their demands.
Students will not pay … this year
The president of ANUB, Sheikh Kabir, yesterday assured students that they would not have to pay VAT for their education.
He said he hoped private university students would end their movement and return to their classrooms.
He criticised the NBR’s clarification on the issue, saying VAT cannot be imposed on the trusts which govern private universities.
East West University authorities yesterday posted an urgent notice on their website assuring students that VAT would not be collected from them.
“East West University students will not have to pay any VAT. They are advised to attend classes regularly,” read the message signed by the EWU registrar, Air Cdre (Retd) Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury.
Private university students have been staging protests ever since the government on June 4 proposed to impose a 10% VAT on education at private universities and medical and engineering colleges. The tax rate was later reduced to 7.5%, amid opposition from students, their guardians and the owners of private universities.
Protests came to a head on Wednesday when police assaulted demonstrating students, mushrooming into Thursday’s citywide road blockade.
The prime minister, finance minister and NBR tried to clarify the issue on Thursday, saying the burden of VAT would fall on the private university authorities, not the students.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said private university students will not have to pay additional VAT this year.
“What I think is … this time nobody is going to be charged. They [the universities] will pay it from what [tuition fees] has already been collected,” he told reporters yesterday after an event at a city hotel.
He said the government had reached an understanding with the university authorities under which will pay the VAT this year and the students will pay the tax next year.
Students and their guardians continue to demand a complete scrapping of the VAT, saying the universities will eventually reach into the students’ pockets to pay the government exchequer.