Bangladeshi government forced back by student protests

Thousands of Bangladeshi student protesters were celebrating on the streets of Dhaka and on campuses nationwide after the Bangladeshi government announced that it would withdraw a value added tax (VAT) of 7.5 percent on tuition fees for private universities and medical and engineering colleges.

The peaceful NO VAT ON EDUCATION campaign took off in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi and other cities after the annual budget on 21 June introduced a VAT of 10 percent on private university education. This later was reduced to 7.5 percent but students vowed to continue protests until the VAT was scrapped entirely.

Similar attempts to impose a 4.5 percent VAT on private university education in 2010 failed after angry demonstrations in Dhaka. Jaheen Faruque Amin, coordinating member of the NO VAT ON EDUCATION campaign and a student at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh told Red Flag, “If private university students did not protest back then, it is quite predictable that VAT on education could have increased more than now”.

More than 80 of Bangladesh’s 122 universities are private. The VAT affected almost half a million students, according to the University Grants Committee estimates. Lower-middle class families are increasingly paying for private university admission due to shortages and admission ceilings in public education.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith criticised the student campaign. Speaking to journalists in Sylhet, a city in the country’s north-east, he said: “I don’t support their movement. They can pay Tk 50,000 (A$885), Tk 30,000 (A$530) as tuition fees; why won’t they pay only 7.5 percent VAT?”

These comments added fuel to the fire in a nation with per capita GDP of about A$1,800.

On 9 September, several thousand protesters blocked roads in Dhaka. Hundreds of East West University students blocked Rampura Bridge, causing major traffic congestion.

Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring 35 people according to Dhaka’s Daily Star. This sparked immediate solidarity and participation by thousands of students from universities including North South University, University of Information Technology and Sciences and Dhaka Medical College. Roads in Dhanmondi and Mirpur were jammed. Students in Chittagong and Sylhet staged sit-ins, blocking roads.

On 13 September, the protesters blocked major thoroughfares of Dhaka to press for their demands. Within days, the capital had come to a standstill. The Bangladeshi government could not withstand the immense pressure that the protests had brought to bear.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a private cabinet meeting reportedly directed finance minister Muhith to withdraw the VAT. Students will be reimbursed for payments made since 4 June, the day the VAT was imposed.

This victory is a reminder that when you fight, you can win.