Nod of parents, teachers must to hike fees

Updated on: Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Schools will need to compulsorily seek the consent of parents and teachers before hiking fees. Five days after the legislative assembly approved a Bill tabled by the school education department for regulating school fee hikes, the legislative council approved it on Monday.

Faujiya Khan, minister of state, school education, said the Act will help curb acts of profiteering by school managements. An executive committee, comprising parents and teachers, will have to be formed in each school by August 15 every year.

Fee hike proposals will have to be ratified by this committee. A regional committee, comprising a retired judge, and a state level committee, comprising a retired judge from the Bombay High Court, will decide the cases in the event of a dispute between the school management and the executive committee, if the difference between the former’s fee hike proposal and the hike acceptable to the committee is over 15%. Decision take by the state-level committee will be final. Penalty ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh will be levied on school managements found hiking fees ‘unreasonably’. Imprisonment of up to six months can be slapped in case of a repeat offence.

If the executive committee fails to decide the fee hike within the stipulated time, then the school has the liberty to collect fees of the previous academic year plus 15% increase on the fee, till the final decision of the divisional committee.

Nod of parents, teachers must to hike fees

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