Most schools of good repute justify the fee hike, citing the rising cost of living and maintenance.

"We increase fees in school as the cost of electricity, essentials and stationery is rising by the year," says Yasmeen Murshed, chairperson of Scholastica, the largest private English medium school in Bangladesh.

But guardians do not believe these were any justification for such hike. "The increase in schooling cost outpaces the price hike of essentials or electricity. The rising cost of living and maintenance as the reason for such increased fees sounds absurd. Schools don't even pay tax as we pay," says Mahmud Chowdhury, who finds it hard to ensure good education for his son.

Pre-school admission fees range between Tk 5,000 and Tk 40,000 in different schools, which were less than half a few years ago.

Most reputed schools are increasing the students' yearly fees. Guardians now pay Tk 8,000 to Tk 15,000 in yearly fees for a student in addition to monthly tuition fees of Tk 800 to Tk 5,000 or even higher.

Over 1.5 lakh students study in several thousand private English medium schools across the country.

"These schools are charging whatever they wish as there is no regulation," says Hasan Mohammad Zahid, a guardian, whose wards study in an English medium school in Dhanmondi.

"The school authorities know we cannot take our children out of school even if we want. High fees are common to all schools," Zahid says.

Samira, a mother of two, points out that the schools impose additional fees now and then, piling pressure on the guardians of limited income. "They charge us for class parties. Why do we need class parties every month? Why do we have to pay additional Tk 200 for that?"

The high fees do not reflect the infrastructure of most schools. The Daily Star correspondent found students attending classes in overcrowded rooms shut out of sunlight. Some schools built classrooms on the landings of staircases and have no playgrounds or appropriate recess points.

Guardians question the quality of teachers in general. Many schools provide O and A levels tutorials under the Cambridge University and University of London, but do not follow standards of teacher recruitment as they do not have any managing committee.

A managing committee, elected by guardians, is mandatory for private educational institutions to run, according to a government rule.

"The school authorities fear the schools will lose control of their money-making strategy and have to ensure transparency if such committees are formed," says Arif Hossain, a parent.

"Many schools operate like businesses. They earn high not only from fees but from book and stationery sales. Buying uniforms from the schools for children is a must."

A school in Dhanmondi made blazers compulsory as wintertime school uniform and asked guardians to have the blazer tailored from the shop on the school premises. Guardians were forced to buy fabric from the shop as the school selected fabric that was not easily available in the market.

The English medium schools spiked all fees last year when Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman mentioned that the private schools would be brought under the tax net. But the government did not impose the tax back then.

Some disgruntled guardians of the students of Scholastica and Bangladesh International Tutorial (BIT) held press conferences last month to accuse the management of the institutions of 'irrational hikes in fees and other charges'.

As Scholastica did not budge from its stand, the guardians went to court, seeking to eliminate 'irregularities'. The guardians pleaded for a court order to ensure good standards of education and congenial academic atmosphere.

DEFENCE AND BLAME
A forum of guardians of Scholastica students continues to argue that the school raised enrolment fees for Play Group and Nursery by 50 percent to Tk 15,000 from Tk 10,000. Tuition fees for Play Group are Tk 1,650 and Tk 3,600 for Class II a month.

Scholastica Chairperson Yasmeen Murshed, defending her position, says: "We did not increase annual enrolment fees by 50 percent as the guardians say. The rise was 25 percent from Tk 12,000 to Tk 15,000."

The Forum of BIT Students' Guardians at a press conference alleged that the BIT hiked its tuition and other fees impossibly up.

Rina Rahman, convenor of the forum, said the annual tuition fee for Class IV to Class VIII which was Tk 6,000 in 1998 has gradually climbed to Tk 15,000 in 2003 and Tk 18,000 in 2004.

BIT Principal Lubna Chowdhury refuting the guardians' allegation said the school raised the tuition fee by 10 percent every two years, which she thinks quite reasonable compared to the yearly price spiral of essentials.

Rasheda K Chowdhury, director of the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), an education watchdog, observes that many English medium schools posing as mainstream schools cannot provide proper education. "The management of these schools turned education into a commodity."

"The government should monitor the activities of these schools and oversee the curriculum to uphold the values-norms and cultural heritage of our country," she says.

A senior education ministry official, asking not to be named, said the government considers framing a law to discipline English medium schools.

"A committee is working to that end and every English medium school will be required to register with the authorities concerned for operation," the official said. The previous government also announced that such a committee was formed to formulate a guideline.