Should Private Universities Allow Student Politics?

Should Private Universities Allow Student Politics?

- Wafiur Rahman

 Thousands of student protesters were celebrating on the streets of Dhaka and on campuses nationwide after the Bangladeshi government announced that it would withdraw a value added tax (VAT) of 7.5 % on tuition fees for private universities and medical and engineering colleges.

The peaceful “NO VAT ON EDUCATION” campaign took off in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi and other cities after the annual budget on 21 June, 2015 introduced a VAT of 10 % on private university education. This later was reduced to 7.5 % but students vowed to continue protests until the VAT was scrapped entirely.

Similar attempts to impose a 4.5 % VAT on private university education in 2010 failed after angry demonstrations in Dhaka. Jaheen Faruque Amin, coordinating member of the NO VAT ON EDUCATION campaign and erstwhile student at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh told Dhaka Courier “If private university students did not protest back then, it is quite predictable that VAT on education could have increased more than what it is currently”.

Was this an outburst of student politics for private university students? Back in 2016, the student wing of Bangladesh Awami League, Bangladesh Chhatra League, had openly demanded to open student politics at private universities to fight militancy in the country.

BCL president Saifur Rahman and general secretary SM Jakir Hossain made the demand at a view-exchange meeting between the government and private university owners, where the BCL president raised a question whether private universities are really politics-free or not, claiming if there is no vocal politics, there exists silent politics. And, silent politics means terrorism and militancy.