Common people are constantly harassed and suffering for birth registration, birth registration correction and English online. On top of this, the people involved in these activities are suffering from irregularities and arbitrariness. Parents have to go to different places to collect the necessary documents for birth registration of the child. Additional money has to be paid as well.
The situation is such that holding tax receipts and land registration certificates are also demanded as a condition for birth registration in some places! As birth registration is essential for state important work including voter list, school admission and passport, common people are going from office to office of Union Parishad with suffering in mind.
Parents have to go to the registration office at least four to five times to register the birth of their son or daughter in the union council or municipality. Various documents have to be collected. 500-700 taka has to be calculated for new birth registration with him. And for correction, you have to pay 800-1000 taka, to correct the age, union secretary wants 3 thousand 500 to 4 thousand taka.
According to the government notification, the birth registration fee has been fixed at Tk 25 for children up to 5 years of age and Tk 50 for all ages above 5 years. Apart from this, the government has set an application fee of Tk 100 for correcting the date of birth in the birth certificate. Apart from 11 Unions and Municipalities of Hatia Upazila of Noakhali District, birth registration offices in various districts of the country have been accused of collecting additional money in addition to the government fixed fee.
The Registrar General’s Office of the Local Government Department is doing the registration of births and deaths in the country. The organization implements this work at the field level through the union council, municipality, city corporation. Many cases have to go to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer and District Commissioner’s office to correct the mistake. Yet there is no end to the harassment and suffering of the common people.
Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that every child be registered after birth. Article 6 of the country’s National Child Policy 2011 mentions ensuring birth registration of all children. The Office of the Registrar General of the Local Government Department, which is responsible for registering births and deaths in the country, says that birth registration is a fundamental right of the child, which is important in gaining statehood.
But there is no end to suffering in birth registration as a prerequisite for obtaining that basic right of the child. The victims are questioning, if it is a basic right, why should we suffer so much? In many cases, the secretary of the Union Parishad is forced to get the birth registration done even with bribes. Citizens are moving from office to office month after month after paying a bribe of 4 figures while correcting a minor mistake.