Schools warned against collecting capitation fee

The Director of Matriculation Schools, in a circular released on Saturday, clarified that it is not that easy to close a private school as all the institutions are run either by societies or trust which are governed by rules.

“It involves a cumbersome process and a lot of preparatory work, which an educational agency, as a charitable society or trust, has to do to effect closure,” it stated.

As per rule 20 of the Tamil Nadu Recognised Private schools (Regulation) Rules, pertaining to closure of private schools contemplates among others, any property endowed to the private schools proposed to be closed should be continued to be used for wthe educational purposes in accordance with the objects of the trust or society.

“All the property of the private school like contributions and donations from the public should also be continued to be utilised for educational purposes only,” the circular stated, adding that “therefore, any attempt to divert funds for purposes other than education is in violation of fundamentals of the societies or trusts.”

Societies and trusts shall ensure that fee charged by the school should be reasonable and commensurate with the facilities provided by the institution and that neither capitation fee nor voluntary donation for gaining admission should be collected in the name of the school. In such malpractices, the Board may take drastic action leading to disaffiliation of the school.

“Any attempt by educational agencies to extort money from parents to fund other commercial and non-educational activities should be thwarted at any cost,” the circular stated, adding that parents should be informed that bare threats of closure of school are meaningless. The Chief Education Officers were instructed to ensure that the schools abide by the rules.