THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state child rights commission’s order to slash annual fees by 25 per cent in all schools owing to the Covid pandemic may come as a relief to a large number of parents. But it is easier said than done as the state government seems to be in no mood to establish such a mechanism anytime soon.
The rights panel said its order on fee reduction should be applicable to all schools, including government and aided schools. It is said the commission seems to have overlooked the basic fact that no fee is charged from students in government and aided schools.
Implementing the fee reduction norm will be a tough task for the government in unaided schools that follow the state syllabus as well as schools affiliated to national boards such as CBSE and ICSE. The child rights body pointed out that the government can regulate fees in CBSE and ICSE schools on the basis of a High Court order. However, the government is yet to take a policy decision on this front.
“If this directive is to be implemented, a proper fee regulatory committee should be constituted through legislation. Any other move will end up in legal tangles. At present, the government has not considered setting up such a fee regulatory mechanism,” clarified a top official of the General Education Department.
Also, the fees in unaided schools vary with location, infrastructure facilities and other factors. “Any arbitrary move to issue a blanket order on fee reduction on such schools by the state will immediately be challenged in court,” the official said.
Meanwhile, a good number of schools in the state affiliated to the CBSE say they have already provided fee discount to students. But the quantum varies with each school. “Even without any coercion, a majority of CBSE affiliated schools have provided some form of fee discount,” pointed out Indira Rajan, chief patron of Council of CBSE Schools Kerala.
Since the fee collected from students is the only source of revenue for unaided schools, there are concerns that coercive steps to reduce fees will have a bearing on the payment of salary of teachers and other staff in such institutions.