Fee issue: Admn finds hike as per rules

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 30

Following numerous complaints registered against private schools in the city, the district Education Department conducted a check of the fee structure of schools and found out that the annual hike in the fee was as per the rules under the Right to Education Act (2009).

Following a comparative study of the fee structure of schools for the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18, Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Diprava Lakra gave a clean chit to the schools.

He said as per the rules, the schools might hike the annual fee by maximum eight per cent and the hike announced by private schools was within the limit.

“The district administration received written complaints on the issue following which we conducted an inquiry into the fee structure of Lord Rama School, MSD Senior Secondary School, Sri Guru Harkrishan School, Guru Angad Dev World School, Goniana Mandi, Bhai Jagta Ji Senior Secondary School, Goniana Mandi, RBDAV School and Guru Nanak Dev Public Senior Secondary School. None of the schools have increased their fees beyond seven per cent, which is as per the rules under the Right to Education (RTE) Act,” the Deputy Commissioner said.

The District Education Officer (Secondary), Khushvir Singh, said parents had also been complaining that the schools forced the students to study from books published by private publishers.

“During the checking of the list of books given to students by the schools, RBDAV School, Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School and Guru Angad Dev World School, Goniana Mandi, were directed to make sure that students are taught from NCERT books,” he said.

Maintaining that only those schools against which the administration received complaints were checked, the Deputy Commissioner said all schools had been directed to make sure that no capitation fee was charged from the students and uniforms, books or stationery items are not sold on the school premises.

Parents protest

Meanwhile, unhappy with the state government, district administration and the Education Department, members of the Parents’ Rights Association today burnt an effigy of the Deputy Commissioner as part of their protest at Arya Samaj Chowk.

Raising slogans against the district administration, the protesters said the administration was giving too much leeway to the private schools.

They said they were upset over the fact that the administration had found no discrepancy in the fee structure of the private schools.

“We have also been demanding that the private schools must not be allowed to charge annual charges, re-admission fee, SMS charges, computer charges, smart class charges and other charges as these have become a means of fleecing the parents. The administration didn’t pay attention to our demands,” said president of the union, Rohit Sharma.

They said they would continue their protest against the schools till the time their demands were met.