Implications of 15% tax on private universities

The establishment of a 15 per cent levy on private universities intensifies the burden on students while draining funds from their wallets.

As an educator and stakeholder, I cannot begin to imagine the devastation that such appliance would wreak on society's well-being.

Sure, the government has the authority to impose taxes, but the consequence arises in the aftermath of such plans specially upon the shoulders of the students.

There is no denial that Bangladesh has achieved significant economic progress. Nevertheless, the most crucial component in sustaining this resilience is a well-educated and equalised workforce.

Even yet, it is gruelling to fathom that the country's educational budget is one of the lowest; with negligible scholarships, research facilities or subsidised education for the private institutions that accoutre the job market with thousands of competent graduates every year.

Private universities have the prerogative to government's money, but we have seen none thus far.

As more students attend these institutes, questions about the government's support must be addressed in comparison to public universities.

Why is it acceptable that even after spending a hefty amount on tuition fees, these students and their families still have to shoulder the weight of a 15 per cent tax?

Public universities only enrol once a year whereas private institutions recruit three or more times on an average. Thus, private universities, presumably, are already yielding greater tax revenues for the government than the heavily subsidised state institutions.

On top of it, through private education, more employment is generated thus facilitating the government by taking off the pressure and delivering quality education at a cheaper rate.

If the government could only devote the same amount of taxpayers' money in scholarships for private institutions like they endow for the public sector, the payoff would be astounding.

It is bewildering to see public officials like police officers or secretaries moving overseas for further trainings despite lacking interests, thus turning this scholarly trip into a vacation, whereas thousands of erudite academics from private institutions are unable to obtain a decent degree from overseas due to their lack of finances.

Hence, they are compelled to settle with a local PhD or Master's degree. This results in delayed professional advancement and a lack of global pedagogy, preventing students in the nation from realising their fullest potential.

Universities in Bangladesh are known to operate as non-profit organisations, pursuant to the private university statute. The Trusts legislation of 1882 states that a private university's basic revenues cannot be used for anything but the university's legitimate expenditures.

However, recognising the levy of a tariff would turn private universities into a "for profit entity", eliminating all prohibitions on income exploitations. This will appeal to major investors, infrastructural permutations and economic expansions.

If you were to compare the hospital businesses on a larger scale over a period of time, disparities would be evident in the provision of healthcare services and the endowment of high-end personalised services. This is the essence of privatisation!

The students from creditable private universities are already acquiring subsidised education in comparison to the facilities presented in today's time. If not, they would have migrated to other countries in the prospect of accessing finer resources with greater opportunities. This would have drained our money and weakened our reserves together with a lack of manpower, causing brain drain if they chose to stay overseas, as is the situation in many cases.

But implications of the policies should be made for the greater good of the society creating a stronger and meaningful regulations for the students. What worries me the most is the catastrophic consequences that this policy will have on the students.

Students are already paying their tuition fees out of their own pockets without subsidies from the government -- is the burden not enough for these poor souls, can they not dream of a better future? This mere act might even discourage them from pursuing education and transform the nation into an illiterate and lazy one.

Banks and other financial associations are hesitant to invest in private universities since they cannot recoup their investment in a non-profit organisation as they can in a "for profit" one.

Until now, people have chastised private institutions for their lack of excellence, accusing them of recruiting public university lecturers whose teaching is apparently "tremendous".

If this is the case, the statement is contradictory to itself. If we hire teachers from places that are considered top-notch, then the quality of education remains unquestionable.

How come institutions that have been around for 30 years and have several PhD faculties in their universities cannot afford the opportunity to award doctorate degrees to their students? It is about time that these policymakers concentrate on extending their provisional horizons instead of focusing on how to extract money from the common public. Such mentality in the 21st century is truly hurtful.

Deriving out of first-hand experience, market employability is sought-after as thousands of private university graduates contribute to the nation. Merit is measured by market and stakeholders, and it is the market that determines the quality of the graduates. When the ratio of public university graduates to private university graduates in the market is rivalled, more private university graduates are recruited, culminating more money for the government through indirect spending.

The fourth industrial revolution is taking place globally. In order to keep up with the fast-paced world, we need investments from the public sector to train our youth and ensure their alacrity to represent our nation.

This would require infrastructure, rigorous training and an updated curriculum. The wonders that our nation can experience by equipping its youth with the best set of education is inexplicable.

So instead of imposing such a costly burden, we expect the government to revoke the encumbrance of an additional tax and help us build a prosperous nation.

The writer is a professor of international business and marketing at the Institute of Business Administration under Dhaka University.