Parents Seek Action Against High Fees in Private Schools
The government was also urged to stop the sale of books and uniforms at inflated prices within school campuses.
Tirupati: The Parents Association of Andhra Pradesh (PAAP) has urged the state government to take immediate steps to curb high fees being charged by private and corporate schools and junior colleges across the state.
Association president Shikaram Narahari and secretary G. Eswaraiah on Monday expressed concern over the growing financial burden on parents at the beginning of the academic year. They called upon the government and education department to intervene and regulate fee structures in private educational institutions.
It said the absence of a fully functional AP School education regulatory and monitoring commission is helping educational institutions to impose high fees without effective oversight. The commission, established to regulate fees and monitor educational standards from LKG to Intermediate level, remained inactive due to a lack of a full-time chairman and members.
The association sought immediate reconstitution of the regulatory panel with a chairman and members and sought adequate powers for the commission to take action against institutions violating education laws and regulations.
The government was also urged to stop the sale of books and uniforms at inflated prices within school campuses. Referring to the Right to Education Act, 2009, it called for strict action against institutions collecting capitation fees and sought the imposition of penalties on violators.
Parents sought implementation of court directions on fee regulation and mandatory display of approved fee structures on school notice boards. Transparency would help parents understand the fees being collected by educational institutions, the association said.
Expressing concern over the practice of publicising students' ranks and marks through flex banners and advertisements, the association called for strict enforcement of GO-Ms-9 for regulating the functioning of coaching institutes.
As an interim measure, it proposed the establishment of district-level grievance cells under the supervision of collectors, with DEOs and parents' association representatives as members, to receive and address complaints relating to illegal fee collections. The association warned that it would organise protests if the government failed to take corrective steps.
