APUB demands withdrawal of proposed VAT
Thursday, 17 June 2010
The Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB) has demanded withdrawal of VAT proposed in the national budget on payments received from students of Non-Government Universities (NGUs).
The Association, its member universities, students, guardians and the academic community have viewed that the new proposal is detrimental to the cause of higher education in the country and should be withdrawn in the greater public interest, said a press release Tuesday.
The imposition of VAT would adversely affect more than 0.20 million students presently studying in NGUs and would shrink the scope of higher education.
The press release stated that the NGUs were educational institutions and had no conceptual linkage with VAT, and the burden of the VAT will increase the cost of education.
NGUs are self-funding organisations while government bears the cost of education of all students in public universities. Thus imposing VAT on NGU students only is discriminatory, unjust and inequitable, it added.
Such proposal is also inconsistent with the government declared policy on priority to higher education, human resource development, digital Bangladesh and private sector-led growth.
The Association, its member universities, students, guardians and the academic community have viewed that the new proposal is detrimental to the cause of higher education in the country and should be withdrawn in the greater public interest, said a press release Tuesday.
The imposition of VAT would adversely affect more than 0.20 million students presently studying in NGUs and would shrink the scope of higher education.
The press release stated that the NGUs were educational institutions and had no conceptual linkage with VAT, and the burden of the VAT will increase the cost of education.
NGUs are self-funding organisations while government bears the cost of education of all students in public universities. Thus imposing VAT on NGU students only is discriminatory, unjust and inequitable, it added.
Such proposal is also inconsistent with the government declared policy on priority to higher education, human resource development, digital Bangladesh and private sector-led growth.