Fee regulation ordinance gets mixed response from city organisations

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 11

The “Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Education Institutions Ordinance, 2016”, which was passed on Saturday in the Assembly evoked mixed response from city-based organisations, which have been taking up the matter with the government for a long.

The Punjab Parents Association (PPA), which spearheaded the agitation against skyrocketing fee in private schools, flayed it as half-hearted attempt. On the other hand, the Global Human Rights Organisation welcomed the government’s step.

Members of the PPA, led by its president MK Sharma, held a protest and burnt the effigy of “private school mafia”. The Act was supposed to be passed in the monsoon session only. He said the approval of ordinance at this time was purely a political move as the election code of conduct could come into force in the state anytime. While features of the ordinance are yet to be known which will govern the fees in private schools, the government is silent on the inflated fee charged by schools. He said if the government was really sincere then the ordinance must be promulgated immediately.

The PPA demanded the school fee must be curtailed and additional charges must be dropped by private schools. Global Human Rights Organisation (GHRO) president Vishal Joshi and its member Neeraj Thakur welcomed the passage of the ordinance in the Assembly and thanked the Badal government. They have been pursuing the state government through RTI enquiries to pass the Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Institution Bill that has been lying with the state cabinet for its approval for the past over two years.

Citing the instance of Union Territory Chandigarh, which recently adopted the new policy devising a common formula to work out the fees to be charged per student by a school, using duly audited figures, they said why the state was hesitating to frame laws here. They demanded similar mechanism must be put in place to keep a check on maintainance of teacher-student ratio in classrooms and induction of relevantly qualified staff in private schools in the state to ensure delivering of quality education.

They said the new law in the UT caps the fees at the rate of 110 per cent, including profit and management charge, the policy prohibits the schools from receiving any other profit from students and parents by way of admission fee, re-admission fee and supply or sale of books, stationery items and uniforms.