After 17 years, the State government is set to revise the fee formula for private schools, but parents and activists have opposed different sections of the draft. On Wednesday, parents sent their objections to the Department of Primary and Secondary Education.
The draft rules specify differential fees for schools based on geographic location. They enhance the recurring expenditure from 30 per cent of the salary paid to the teaching and non-teaching staff to between 50 to 100 per cent.
Parents and legal experts say that the proposed draft fee structure would give a ‘free hand’ to private schools to increase fees.
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Parents say that the amendment on geographic location would result in ‘discrimination and inequality’.
Several school managements, which had a separate meeting on Wednesday, also had objections. D. Shashi Kumar, General Secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka said that they object to the differential fee for different locations given that a majority of the expenditure is constant and incurred by all schools across the State. “There is also a need for the department to allow us to collect a surplus amount of 10 to 15 per cent for unforeseen circumstances, in consultation with parents,” he added.
They want schools with own land and building to be categorised separately.
However, a senior official of the department pointed out that the revised fee was computed taking into account salary expenditure of the previous financial year. “Although the draft proposes an increase of 20 per cent to 70 per cent compared to the earlier year, it is important to note that this draft factors in the additional cost that could arise from the previous financial year to the ensuing academic year,” the official said. Although several stakeholders have termed the draft ‘problematic’, less than half a dozen individuals and organisations have submitted objections to the department. The last date to file objections is November 5.