Application for School Admission: 76pc of Seats in Private Schools Vacant

The application period for admission to government and private schools from first to ninth grade ended on Saturday (November 30). It was found that while more applications were submitted for admission to government schools, there was not much response in private schools. 76 percent of the seats remain vacant.

This information was revealed by analyzing the applications submitted till 5 pm on Saturday (November 30).

According to the Department of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), a total of 9,65,704 students have applied for admission to government and private schools till 5 pm on Saturday (November 30). They have given a total of 15,63,738 school choices.

Out of this, the highest number of applications have been received in government schools. 6,25,903 applications have been received in government schools.

On the other hand, only 3,39,800 applications have been received against 10,07,671 seats in 3,39,800 private schools in Dhaka and various metropolitan and district headquarters levels. They have given a total of 6,13,007 school choices. Despite having 8 times more seats than government schools, 6,68,871 more seats are still vacant. That is, about 76 percent of the seats in private schools are still vacant.

Digital lottery and result publication
After the application process, a digital lottery will be held this time. According to the decision of the DSHE meeting, the official date of the lottery has been fixed as December 10. Later, the lottery results will be published on December 12. However, this date may change due to special reasons.

Publication of merit-waiting list and final admission
After the publication of the results of the digital lottery, the admission process will start on December 17 and will continue until December 21. After that, admission from the first waiting list will continue from December 22 to 24 and from December 26 to December 30.

Final admission fee and other expenses
The total admission fee including session charges in schools in the country's rural areas will not exceed Tk500. Tk1,000 in upazila and municipal areas, and a maximum of Tk3,000 in metropolitan areas (except Dhaka).

On the other hand, educational institutions under MPO in the capital can charge a maximum admission fee of Tk5,000. Educational institutions under partial MPO can charge an admission fee of Tk8,000. However, the admission fee in the English version is Tk10,000.

Apart from this, institutions in the capital cannot charge a development fee of more than Tk3,000. Session charges can be charged every year after passing the annual examination in the same institution. However, re-admission fees cannot be charged.

When asked about the vacancy of seats in private schools, Mohammad Aziz Uddin, Member Secretary of the Dhaka Metropolitan Admission Committee and Deputy Director of the Secondary Branch of the Department of Secondary and Higher Education, told the media that considering the facilities and amenities, everyone wants to admit their children to government schools. This tendency is especially high in various metropolitan cities and district headquarters including Dhaka. The reason for this is the quality of teachers and education in government schools is better than in private schools. There is also an issue of cost.

Incidentally, applications for admission to classes one to nine in government and private schools in the country began on November 12. Which ended 18 days later on November 30.