Chennai: Recent examples like those of Bala Vidya Mandir and Asan Memorial School, which had parents agitating against the school managements for charging excess fees, reveal that these are not the only schools currently under the radar for collecting more than the authorised fee amount. Since January 2014, 72 complaints from across the state have been filed with the Justice (retd) S.R. Singaravelu fee determination committee, set up by the government in 2012 to fix fees for all schools in the state.
Of these, 45 cases have been closed after schools complied with the committee’s order of refunding the excess amount. With 25 complaints, of which 17 have been closed, Chennai topped the complaint list, followed by Nagercoil with complaints filed against 14 schools and Kancheepuram (8). A committee official said awareness among parents regarding the fees fixed by the committee was increasing slowly.
Reflecting on the numbers, Prince Gajendra Babu, education activist and general secretary of the state platform for common school syllabus, stated that most schools don’t issue fee challans, and thereby parents are often constrained for want of proper evidence. “It is only upon the receipt of evidence like a challan that a complaint is investigated by the fee committee, but the general practice of schools is not to issue them. Moreover, complaint redressal cells must be set up in all 65 educational districts of the state for ensuring proper action,” he said.
The second round of BVM hearing supposed to be held on Tuesday has been postponed, pending the submission of joint director of school education (higher secondary) S. Karmegam’s report.
On June 11, Karmegam will inspect school premises when he is scheduled to interact with all stakeholders.
