Government warns schools against collecting exorbitant fees

“Commercialisation of education is against the basic tenets of charitable institutes. They should see that the tuition fee charged is reasonable and commensurate with the facilities provided by them,” a circular issued by the Directorate of Matriculation Schools here said.Pointing out that after witnessing demonstrations and objections against exorbitant collection of fees by the parents, the government had enacted the Fees Regulation Act, the order said the main objective of the Act is to provide a mechanism to regulate the collection of fees by the private schools so that education is affordable for both the poor as well. 

“Fees should normally be charged under the head prescribed by the Department of Education of the State for schools of different categories and no capitation fee or voluntary donations for gaining admission in the school or for any purpose should be collected”, it said adding “in case of such malpractices, the board may take drastic action leading to disaffiliation of the school”. 

Accordingly, all private schools other than CBSE and ICSE institutions, which have so far not submitted details, should place before the fees regulation committee the proposed fee structure of the school with all relevant documents before August 15, 2018. “The schools affiliated to CBSE and ICSE should notify tuition fees before August 15, 2018, so that the committee can verify whether the fee collected by the schools is commensurate with the facilities provided. The government order said that the committee will also hear complaints regarding collection of excess fees by schools affiliated to the CBSE and to recommend to the board for disaffiliation of the school if it concludes that the institution has collected excess fees.