The intensity of parents’agitation against ‘fee hike’ has finally blown up the lid. The education minister Vasudev Devanani has announced that schools deviating from the ‘Fee Act’ will be penalised and can even lose recognition.
The minister’s decision came after longstanding protests of parents groups and the opposition party against the unreasonable fee hike by several leading city schools. DNA has been raising concerns of the parents for last few days bringing anomaly in the fee hike formula of several schools.
There have been unruly scenes of parents demonstrating at the gates of schools blocking traffic and shouting slogans against the school management.
The minister took cognisance of these protests while deciding on the government’s intervention.
According to education department officials, the matter could have been resolved easily without any noisy scenes had parents groups taken the ‘right course’ of action prescribed in the Fee Act.
“Instead of doing ‘gherao’ of schools and management, parents groups should have lodged a complaint with the District Education Officer. Unless they approach us, we won’t be able to take any action.
There are 4,832 private schools. However, the DEO has received only two such complaints so far. Both the complaints have been filed against Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Vidyashram School.
“They are asking the government to regulate the unreasonable fee hike and ensure the school has a School Level Fee Committee,” said Ashok Sharma, additional district officer of secondary education (first).
“The act was implemented in 2017 and a school level fee committee was to be formed and notified within six months. The law states that the parents need to be informed about the change in fee at least six months before the implementation.
The changes have to be recommended by the committee. Though, the school does not need to get the fee hike approved by the government.
The initial investigations shows that Vidyashram does not have a School Level Fee Committee,” Sharma added.
The School Level Fee Committee consists of ten members, out of which five are parents which are selected through lottery system.
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