The Karnataka High Court’s directive to the Department of Public Instruction to keep a close watch on the annual fees charged by private unaided schools, is sure to be appreciated by parents, who have to fork out lakhs of rupees to get their children educated at these schools. The institutions have found a clever way to fleece parents by charging hefty amounts, not as tuition fee, but under other categories such as ‘building fee’ and ‘stadium fee.’ Only time will tell if the authorities will implement the HC directive strictly and send out a message loud and clear that education should not be seen as a business. Be more transparent over the fee structure, says Shrinivasa M.
There's a very good reason schools have mushroomed in Bengaluru. It’s a thriving business with most charging an annual fee of anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh a year for primary classes and up to Rs 75,000 a year for the higher classes. As many institutions readied to hike their fee even further during the annual revision this year, a number of students and their parents decided enough was enough and petitioned the Karnataka High Court (HC) to put a stop to the ad hoc fixing of fee by the school managements despite the many guidelines introduced by the state government over the years to regulate their fee structure.
Read: Guest column – ‘School fees should be regulated by government’
Although aware of the disgruntlement among parents, many managements were left stunned by Tuesday’s court verdict that effectively put an end to their free-wheeling days and insisted on the government enforcing its fee regulatory notification of 2000. The judgement is expected to bring radical changes in the state primary and secondary education sector as it is based on the several directions and notifications issued by the state government over the last two decades to bring in transparency in the fee structure of private unaided schools that are often accused of demanding excess fee in the name of providing various facilities to their students.
We welcome the order of the high court. Although the DPI has issued various notifications over the years, they have not been implemented. Now these notifications will see the light of day because of the court order. But we want the state government to frame a realistic fee structure. The development fee is just Rs 600 currently, which is unrealistic. These issues must be addressed.
—Mr. D Shashikumar, general secretary, Karnataka Associated Managements of English Medium Schools (KAMS)
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI),which has failed to streamline the fee fee charged by schools despite the many regulations it has on paper, came in for some drubbing by the court, which found its lethargy in the matter unacceptable. The court instructed the DPI to set up a district education regulating authority and strictly implement its rules on admissions and fee structure of all schools.
“The high court order is expected to give life to all the notifications issued over the years and also empower the education department to ensure that no school will in future get away with demanding a hefty fee,” said an officer of the DPI. Relieved by the court order, activists and parents believe it is the first step towards making education more affordable for all.
It is a welcome verdict. We congratulate the high court for such a historical judgement. It is sad that the government failed to protect the interests of the students and it was left to the high court to come to their rescue.
—Mr. Nagasimha G Rao, activist
“Going by the high court order parents must be involved in finalising a new fee structure. This means schools will have to share all the information on their income and expenditure with them, hailing a new era in school education,” observed Mr. Aravind Sharma, a Right To Education activist. Exultant parents want the DPI to implement the court order immediately. “An appellate authority should be formed immediately to ensure that parents and students get justice,” said one parent, Shyam Bhat.
Managements: Fees not revised, have no option
Private managements accused of fleecing students argue in their defence that the state government has not revised their fee structure in accordance with the changing costs and salaries of teachers for years.
Most city schools have escaped from the ambit of the RTE by playing the minority card. The state government must bring all institutes under one act
—Management representative of a private school
The head of a private ICSE school points out that under a government order of 2002 schools are allowed to collect only Rs 600 as development fee. “Development fee is one of the major issues. Parents are not ready to pay more as the government has fixed it at Rs 600 per student although private schools pay qualified teachers salaries of between Rs.75,000 and Rs.1 lakh a month. The Rs 11,000 that the government gives schools for every student admitted under the RTE quota is also insufficient. These are the major issues that should be taken into account before criticising private schools,” he said.
While some of the protests may be legitimate, the fact is schools have for long got away with acting on their whims and fancies with successive governments failing to implement the regulations introduced to rein them in. Going by the rules that have remained merely on paper, no donation or voluntary donation can be received by the schools other than the prescribed fee notified by the managements during the entire stay of the student in the educational institution.
Also the maximum tuition fee a private unaided educational institution can charge depends on its expenditure on salaries on teaching and non-teaching staff. While it is permitted to collect some amount towards construction and expansion it can do so only once at the time of the admission of the child irrespective of the standard to which he or she is admitted and the number of years spent in the school.
