Just 54 % private schools fill Form VI, last date extended again

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, March 20

Just around 54 per cent of private schools in the state have so far submitted Form VI, while the last date for the submission has been extended thrice already.

As per the information, 10,196 schools were required to fill Form VI, while nearly 5,500 schools have filled their information so far. The extended last date for the submission was March 15, but it has been extended again till March 31.

The form contains information about student, staff strength, staff salary, last year’s fee structure, current year’s structure and next year’s proposed hike and other facilities being provided.

Meanwhile, a private school’s body said slow pace of filling Form VI is due to the technicality of the form.

“The form is linked with salary of the staff. Due to Covid pandemic, schools were working with reduced staff and also with reduced salaries.Now, the strength has increased and hiring is still on. In this form, the salary of last year and current year is to be compared due to which the schools have been facing issues. We demand that a flat 10.13 per cent (consumer price index plus 5 per cent) fee raise should be allowed for this year. The HPSC has already represented this to the government in detail. We have sent a letter to the Director, Elementary Education, and sought relaxation in the implementation of amended gazette notification of the Haryana Schools Act and subsequent rules, said Prashant Munjal, vice-president, Haryana Progressive Schools’ Conference.

Saurabh Kapoor, spokesman for HPSC, said, “Form VI is complex as every single detail of the expenditure and fee has been sought. Schools have been facing difficulties in filling the forms properly due to which the pace of filling the form is slow. Earlier, the schools did not fill Form VI if they were not increasing the fee but the Act has now made it mandatory for all schools to fill the form. It has been observed that a large number of schools were unaware of the fact. Proper training should have been given by the department.”

Meanwhile, District Education Officer Suresh Kumar, said, “The department has made some changes in the form to bring more clarity, and keeping the interests of all sections in mind. The last date for submission of the forms has been extended till March end as a large number of schools are yet to submit their forms.”