Masum Billah :
The member of parliament of Jheniada-2 raised the issue of increased tuition fee in cadet colleges on 5 May in the question-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad drawing the attention of Anisul Haque, the Law Minister who is in charge of the Ministry of Defense.
The lawmaker proposed whether it could be possible to keep the tuition fee of cadet colleges in a tolerable level to accommodate the learners from middle class and lower middle class families in this prestigious educational institution.
From this year (2024) the tuition fee of the newly admitted cadets has been increased by around 30 percent. In 19 steps that sounds odd. Out of 19, number 18 step says if the guardians’ income crosses Tk one lakh, students will have to give a tuition fee Tk 20,000 which will increase up to 30 percent means Tk 26,000.
If the guardian’s income is Tk 40,000, they will have to pay Tk 16,250, which means 40 percent of the total income of the guardians. Now the highest tuition fee stands at Tk 28,600 that proves burdensome for middle category guardians.
In response to the questions asked in the Jatiya Sangsad, the Law Minister answered that there is no extra income of cadet colleges except the tuition fee of cadets, it was decided to increase the tuition as per the decision of the Ministry of Finance.
However, it was not done. Then the newly admitted cadets of grade seven have fallen under this rule. He also mentioned that the retired cadet college officials and staff have not been enjoying the pension benefits since the financial year 2022-2023 because of not having any bulk allocation for this purpose. However, the minister informed the house the same day that the Prime Minister has already signed the file dealing with the arrear pension money of the retired officials and staff of cadet colleges.
Thanks to the Prime Minister for this move. In this perspective the Law Minister suggested the guardians submit an application to the cadet college governing body to further consider the increased tuition fee of the newly admitted cadets. The minister added that there is a plan to develop an endowment fund for the meritorious cadets coming from financially insolvent families expecting that the cadets will enjoy more benefit through it.
The learners studied in cadet colleges have proved their worth both in the civil and military sector as well as abroad. It says that the nation is getting its due return from the money invested for the brilliant students. We do hope cadet college authorities will continue embracing the glorious tradition to make room for the meritorious learners. However, in no way they get deprived of receiving the ideal education this institution offers because of their financial inability.
(The write is President, English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh-ETAB. He served in Sylhet, Cumilla and Mirzapur Cadet College)