Scholastic Wealth

The dearth of good educational institutions in Bangladesh is something we are all aware of. However, when entrepreneurs like Mrs.Yasmeen Murshed who I like to presume are well aware of thier social corporate responsiblity use this opporunity to amass wealth, we can't help but feel sad about the future of education in our country.

Scholastica School was established during the late 1970s and has been one of the pioneers of English medium education in Bangladesh following the GCE Syllabus under the University of London, preparing students to sit for their Ordinary Level/Advanced Level exams under the jurisdiction of the British Council. The school has come a long way since then but unfortunately we can not say the same about the standard of education that is being offered at the moment. Realizing that the school is a major cash cow, the management has been increasing the fees and yearly charge over the years causing the parents to resort to seeking legal help. There have been court cases against Scholastica on this issue, but the verdict went for the school managment forcing the parents to pay the increased fees and yearly charge. Rumour has it that Mrs. Murshed used her connections with the past BNP led government at the time to achieve this. Moreover, the students are made to buy their books, stationery and uniforms from the bookstore, ETC. owned by the Scholastica Group which is also a significant source of income for them.

All this was fine only if the standard of education was maintained in the school. Students from Scholastica I've spoken to give me horror stories about the rampant use of drugs, pornographic material and alcohol within the school premises. They just have to and I repeat, have to go for private tuition to the school teachers (in some cases, students opt for teachers who are not affiliated with Scholastica) if they want decent grades in their O/A level exams. But attending the classes and studying at home is not enough any more. Well .... I remember it used to be! Almost all the senior teachers who have made Scholastica what it is today left the organisation during the 90s realising that they were not being compensated reasonably for their services. That has however, not changed the way the management thinks and they have gone on to hire amateur, commercial and incompetent teachers to replace them. Not a single person who's studied in Scholastica during the 80s or 90s who I've spoken to, want to enroll their children there. Why? Fortunately, that is not the case with institutions like Sunbeams or South Breeze that have continued to offer a good level of education along with good moral views for young minds.

The group today has several companies and their interests range from interior decoration, developing real estates, credit cards, transport services, food and beverages to God knows what else! Scholastica today is synonymous with 'the fast and the furious' -- rich kids with fast cars, oblivious of their roles and responsibilities as future citizens. The students there are being groomed up to attend Atif Aslam concerts at the Radisson/International Club from the age of 12 (tickets sold at ETC.), drink 150 taka worth coffee (from Coffeeworld), live in luxurious apartments (by OHS), start using credit cards billed to daddy (the flop credit card idea by the group) and indulge in pizza (the group's latest venture) ..... you're just not COOL otherwise.

There is absolutly nothing wrong with being enterprising and no doubt Mrs. Yasmeen Murshed has achieved a lot in a male dominated society like ours, but I think it's about time she starts taking an interest in the school which has made all this possible for her. She has a responsibility to the children, the parents and the nation.