Regulation of fee Bill: Three regulatory bodies formed

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 27

Three regulatory bodies were formed in the State following implementation of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Bill, 2016. Punjab Parents Association president MK Sharma said it was the outcome of the combined agitation of parents of students of private schools.

He anticipated that vigilant parents would now be in a position to take up their genuine complaints against private schools. “Hopefully, the fee regulatory Act would end exploitation of parents”, he remarked.

He said as per the new legislation, the state shall have three divisional regulatory bodies. Each body consists of a chairperson, divisional commissioner of the division concerned, a Member Secretary, Circle Education Officer of the division division, and a member, DEO (Secondary), posted at the headquarter concerned of the division, another member, DEO (Elementary), posted at the headquarter concerned of the division and three other nominated members.

He said since Amritsar falls in the Jalandhar Division, aggrieved parents could submit their complaints there. Another activist, Dharamvir Singh Mahiya, said while fixing or increasing fee, an unaided educational institution can no longer indulge in profiteering and it cannot charge capitation fee.

Increase in fee shall not exceed eight per cent of the fee of the previous year, charged by the unaided private schools. He said it also recommended that all private schools must display their fee structure at a conspicuous place on their premises. He, however, added that the majority of the schools are yet to comply with this order.

He hailed the Act for not allowing commercialisation of education besides funds charged from the students cannot be diverted to any other purpose except the betterment and development of the school or its needs.

The general secretary of the Punjabi Parents Association, Dinesh Thukral, said, parents gained a platform to submit their complaints to the regulatory authority concerned.

Officials of the Education Department stated that complainants could submit their complaints to the education body accompanied by a self-attested affidavit disclosing the particulars of the unaided educational institution concerned along with the name and address of the complainant. The regulatory body is supposed to dispose of the complaint within 60 days from the date of receiving the complaint, they said.

They said in case any school is found guilty, they could be fined. A primary, middle or high school may be fined with an amount up to Rs 30,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh, respectively. If second complaint of the same institution is proved, then the fine amount may be doubled. Third time, the school could lose its affiliation of the board concerned, they added.