The Private School Fee Determination Committee will soon have to deal with schools that have failed to appear before it even after multiple summons. The committee had sent summons to around 11,000 schools this year for the fee determination for a three year period from 2013-14 to 2015-16.
“We have sent summons to all private schools whose fees structures, fixed by the previous committee, have expired. But a few of them are still to respond. These schools will be identified and necessary measures will be taken up after the first week of November. As far as we can, we are looking at finding a common ground with the schools without resorting to harsh methods,” said a senior official with the Committee.
The committee is now examining the schools that started coming to them following the third summons. The schools that have come with appeals for hiking of fees are also being heard by the committee.
These procedures will be completed by November following which it will focus on schools that have not got their fee determined or have it expired. Not happy with the turn of events, around 300 schools had gone in for appeals to hike the fees and about 25 of them have taken it to court. Even disgruntled parents have been coming forward with grievances with the committee after the fee determination.
“In some cases the parents have been coming forward with grievances about unaffordable fee structure. The committee and the School Education Department are looking at finding a common ground between the school management and the parents. Some schools have agreed to give special consideration for particular students who are unable to meet the high expenditure,” he said.
The fee structure for the schools has been divided into five slabs, ‘LKG-UKG’, ‘Class 1-3’, ‘Class 4-5’, ‘Class 6-8’, ‘Class 9-10’ and ‘Class 11-12’. Expenses incurred by the school including teachers’ salaries, infrastructural
development and maintenance, transportation, equipment, teaching aids and publications, are taken into account before the determination of fees.
There is also a hike in fees every academic year.