Students from private universities have met President Abdul Hamid and submitted a memorandum seeking withdrawal of the 7.5% value-added tax (VAT) on private tertiary education.
The three-member delegation, under the banner of “No VAT on Education,” a student platform, submitted the memorandum to the president at Bangabhaban yesterday afternoon.
In the memorandum, they demanded immediate intervention from the president to resolve the issue, claiming that they would go for tough movement if their demand was not met by the next five days, said a press release issued by the platform.
The students also demanded formulation of a policy for all private universities, medical colleges and engineering colleges.
Prior to the meeting with the president, students held a gathering in front of National Press Club.
When they headed towards Bangabhaban, police barred them from advancing in Kadam Phowara area in Dhaka University. Students then sat down on the streets, and three students among them went to Bangabhaban to give the memorandum to the president.
Students from several private universities took part in yesterday’s gathering, including Green University Bangladesh, State University of Bangladesh, IBAIS University, Stamford University of Bangladesh, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, East West University, Brac University, North South University, United International University, University of Asia Pacific, Anwar Khan Modern Medical College, World University and Gana Bishwabidyalay.
The government imposed a 7.5% VAT on private universities and medical and engineering colleges during the budget of the 2015-16 fiscal year
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has already served notices to the private tertiary education institutions to immediately register as VAT-paying entities and pay the VAT to the government exchequer.
This is the first time the government has implemented the VAT on the institutions, imposed on the fees and to be collected from students.
Before in 2010, the government moved to impose indirect tax on private tertiary education, but had to pull out in the face of student protests.
According to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Bangladesh Private Medical College Association, there are currently around 461,000 students enrolled in 83 private universities and over 20,000 students in 64 private medical colleges.
