Rules being framed for panel to check fee in private schools, says govt

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 7

State government is framing rules for a permanent committee to supervise fee structure in private schools in the state. This was stated during the meeting of National SC Commission vice-chairman Raj Kumar Veka with director, Social Welfare Department, and officials of the Higher Education Department, held at Chandigarh yesterday.

He directed the state government to implement recommendations of the Justice Amar Dutt Committee. However, officials brought to his notice that the Justice Amar Dutt Committee was a temporary one while the new panel would be a permanent body.

Verka asked officials to comply with norms of the Justice Amar Dutt Committee as long as the permanent committee did not come into existence. He said the committee had directed director, education, and secretary, education, Punjab, to prevent private schools from charging fee as per their whims and fancies.

Earlier, Additional Deputy Commissioner TP Singh and district education officer (DEO), secondary, Satinder Bir Singh, had appeared before the National SC Commission in connection with the unreasonable fee hike by private school managements in the city.

The DEO admitted before the commission that around 10 private schools in the city were involved in taking a huge sum from students under various heads in an illegal manner. He said these schools were taking fee from parents of students under heads of as many as 37 types of funds, which was wrong as well as illegal.

Verka quoted judgements of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in two separate cases on the basis of which the Justice Amar Dutt Committee was formed in order to curb the alleged high-handedness of private school managements. He said the committee had given its recommendations and asked the director, education, and secretary, education, Punjab, to nail erring school managements in this regard. He also quoted rules of the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), which state that no private school would seek funds from parents of students in the name of re-admission fee, capitation fee, voluntary donation etc.

Members of the parents association present in the meeting alleged that their children were being mentally harassed on which the vice-chairman directed the DEO to take prompt action in this connection. While asking parents to give a written complaint to the DEO (elementary) Satinderbir added that immediate action would be taken against erring schools.