Bangladesh Bank has suggested that all transactions of private educational institutions should be open to all banks, financial institutions, and mobile financial service (MFS) providers. This recommendation aims to allow students and stakeholders of these institutions to use various banking, financial, and MFS platforms for transactions. Recently, Bangladesh Bank sent a letter to the Ministry of Education with this proposal.
Sources indicate that the Ministry of Education had included a rule in a policy to collect all income sources of private educational institutions, such as salaries, fees, other expenses, and grants, only through Sonali Bank's Sonali Payment Gateway (SPG). The central bank now argues that this policy puts undue pressure on the SPG, making it difficult to handle the fee collection of numerous private educational institutions. If there are technical issues with this gateway, the fee collection process could be disrupted. Hence, the recommendation is to amend this policy to allow all banks, financial institutions, and MFS providers to offer this service.
Bangladesh Bank believes that opening up the service to everyone will reduce the monopoly of the Sonali Payment Gateway in private educational institution transactions. Students will be able to pay fees through other licensed payment gateways and private banks besides Sonali Bank. The main goal is to reduce single technical risks and improve service quality. The letter from Bangladesh Bank emphasizes the need to open the fee collection process to all licensed payment gateways rather than limiting it to one gateway.
On February 6, the Ministry of Education issued the 'Policy on Financial Transparency and Accountability of Private Educational Institutions.' According to section 5(k) of this policy, all income of private educational institutions must be collected through designated bank accounts or the Sonali Payment Gateway or any other government-owned bank gateway. Bangladesh Bank has now proposed amending this policy.
Currently, there are 10 licensed payment system operators and several private banks in the country providing advanced payment gateway services. The 'Education Management System' of these institutions is often more modern and convenient compared to government gateways. Emphasis has been placed on using internet banking fund transfer and electronic fund transfer methods instead of the traditional 'cross-check' method for large transactions.
Stakeholders in the sector believe that implementing this decision will create healthy competition in the market, improve service quality, and reduce costs. Students will be able to pay fees using their preferred methods, reducing inconvenience for parents and helping to decrease the use of cash.
