CBSE asks private schools for data on fee structure to curb overcharging

June 04, 2017 05:02 pm | Updated 05:02 pm IST - New Delhi

CBSE has sought data from schools about their fee structure and increase in fees.

CBSE has sought data from schools about their fee structure and increase in fees.

To curb charging of “unreasonable” fees and levying of “hidden” costs, the CBSE has sought data from private schools about their fee structure and increase carried out in recent years.

The move comes weeks after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) warned private schools against turning into “shops” by selling uniform and books in their premises.

“We have told the schools that they should not charge unreasonable fees. The charges should be reasonable and there should be no hidden costs as that is the more irritating part for the parents,” Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said in an interview.

He said the CBSE has sought data from schools about their fee structure and increase in fees.

“Many schools have sent it and the data is being analysed. Schools which haven’t sent it, have been sent reminders and penalised,” he said.

The minister, however, did not throw light on the penalty measures for schools found guilty of overcharging and having hidden costs in their fees structure.

Overcharging by schools and increase in fees every year have been a subject of concern, often raised by the parents.

Gujarat had last month introduced “Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2017” to regulate the charging of exorbitant fees.

The bill empowers the Gujarat government to constitute four ‘fee regulatory committees’, one each for the state’s four zones, to determine “fees for admission to any standard or course of study in self-financed schools.”

The fee structure proposed in the bill for primary, secondary and higher secondary schools is ₹15,000, ₹25,000 and ₹27,000 per year, respectively.

Schools that wish to charge more will have to approach the regulatory committee, which will have jurisdiction over all private schools, whether affiliated to the Gujarat board, the CBSE or international boards.

The bill had also caught the interest of several states as also that of the Centre with education ministers from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and Javadekar asking for copies of the bill from Gujarat Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

“There are private schools which are charging ₹250, ₹2,500, ₹25,000 and ₹2.5 lakh also. That is a choice which has to be made by the parents.

“We value private investment as it contributes to the GDP, but schools should not be overcharging,” Javadekar said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.