ED: No tax on education

We applaud the decision of the High Court directing the government to refrain from collecting the 15% income tax it had decided to impose on private universities.

Make no mistake about it -- the government of any country needs to make tough decisions at all times, and the Bangladesh government is no different. Yet, taxing educational institutions is simply not the way to go, and the practice would go against the progressive mindset that is being cultivated in the country.

Private universities are non-profit entities and above all, they provide our students with a much-needed alternative to public universities due to their limited capacity. In this vein, singling out private universities for taxation goes against the very spirit of education.

Moreover, Bangladesh has been rightfully criticized for its limited allocation of funds in the education sector, and this is particularly problematic for a country which does have incredibly ambitious goals, and which knows that its students are the ones who will be responsible for achieving our development goals.

Therefore, rather than supporting private universities, the government looking to increase its tax revenue from these institutions -- which would cut into the overall budget of these universities -- makes little logical sense.

Instead, the government should be looking for ways to support these private universities so that they can become even more stable, not just in terms of quality of education, but also financially. Private universities will be instrumental in developing Bangladeshis with the right skill sets for the coming decades, and will continue to play a major role in shaping future leaders of Bangladesh -- the ones that will elevate Bangladesh to greater heights.