More penalty for running coaching business sought

National Front of Teachers and Employees (NFTE), a platform of 11 organisations of teachers and education staff, yesterday demanded the penalty that the draft Education Act-2016 stipulates for running coaching business in the country be increased.

The penalty for those running coaching businesses should be a fine of Tk 25 lakh or five years' imprisonment, said leaders of the platform at a press conference at the capital's Jatiya Press Club.

According to the draft law, anyone doing private tuition or running coaching businesses will have to face a monetary penalty of Tk 2 lakh or six months' imprisonment or both.

"The government will have to take stern actions to stop such businesses mushroomed all over the country," said Quazi Faruque Ahmed, chief-coordinator of NFTE.

The platform's leaders also placed a 21-point demand including nationalisation of the post-primary and college education and increasing of budgetary allocation to the education sector in the forthcoming budget. They also announced a month-long programme to press home their demands.