Admission to Colleges
Notre Dame, board at loggerheads
A dispute has brewed between Notre Dame College and Dhaka education board for the college’s holding an admission test in defiance of government rules.
Over the row, the education board has refused to accept SSC transcripts and registration fees of the new students who have enrolled to the college this academic year.
The government admission policy issued in May requires colleges to admit students on the basis of their SSC exam scores and without running admission tests.
The Notre Dame College authorities, however, held a written and oral test in the last week of June and enrolled about 2,500 qualified students. The classes began early July.
The government and the education board said holding an admission test was no longer valid in the new admission policy. As per the new rules, the board will select candidates on the basis of their SSC exam marks for enrolment to colleges.
Father Benjamin Costa, principal of Notre Dame College, however, finds a lack of transparency in the system prescribed by the education board.
“The board said it will prepare the list of students for the college but it is reluctant to disclose the marks on which the students will be selected. A lack of a transparency lies here,” he told The Daily Star.
Arguing for the college’s admission policy, he said they had arranged an admission test to provide a chance to thousands of students who wanted to study in Notre Dame College.
“Otherwise, a huge commotion would have been created among the candidates.”
When the education ministry and the board insisted the Notre Dame College authorities comply with new the rules like other colleges in the country, a parent of a newly admitted student filed a lawsuit with the High Court (HC) in June.
On June 14, the HC stayed the process for admission on the basis of the government admission policy for six months, paving the way for enrolment of students to Notre Dame College under its existing admission system.
But an uncertainty has been hanging over the fate of the fresh students since then, as they will not be able to register for HSC exams if the board does not receive their transcripts and registration fees.
However, both the government and the board, say they will not do anything that would harm the students.
Father Benjamin Costa said two months ago, they sent a letter to the ministry and the board requesting them to endorse the college’s existing admission system. “The board informed us that it will let us know about the next step after getting the court’s directives.”
Prof Fahima Khatun, chairman, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, said they had already sent letters to the education ministry and the college authorities for their legal opinions to solve the dispute.
“We will soon sit with the college authorities for working out a solution. I hope they would come forward considering the future of the students,” she told The Daily Star.
-With The Daily Star input
