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| Fee structure of pvt schools: Legislation still a dream | | Who'll stop fleecing of parents? | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 26: Even as the state government keeps on claiming that it has introduced a number of reforms in the school education sector, such claims fall flat when one of the most significant aspects of making a law to frame a proper fee structure for the private schools of the state is yet to be introduced. In the absence of a law governing the fee structures, the private schools are openly indulging in arbitrariness due to which the parents are forced to shell out extra money for the education of their wards.
"The whimsicality of the private schools cannot be checked until and unless a law is being introduced by the state government to frame the fee structures of the educational institutions," said Rajeev Sharma, a parent whose son studies in a private school. In order to regulate the fee structures, the state government had brought in a rule through a notification wherein it was made mandatory for the private schools to publish their fee structures in the newspapers annually but the rule was nowhere to be seen after few years of its inception.
"Only few private schools that too which fall in the lower level category adhered to the notification issued earlier. The big sharks, in simple words, the influential private schools didn't deem it fit to comply with the rule. Now, almost all the private schools have stopped the publication of the fee structures," wishing anonymity said an officer of the Education department. While speaking to Early Times some of the parents said that most of the private schools every year not only enhance the fee wilfully but also increase the transport charges arbitrarily.
They said that the admission process for the new academic session has begun and the private schools have already come up with a hike of 5 to 20 percent in fee structure as there is no check and balance to their whims and fancies.
The parents criticised the School Education Minister Altaf Bukhari for giving the false assurances over and over again on the introduction and enactment of a new law to govern the fee structures of the private schools.
"Bukhari first assured to enact the law at the time of his taking over as the minister incharge School Education Department. Then he again made the same promise before the commencement of the Budget Session and this time he guaranteed to introduce a bill in this regard during the session," the parents said.
"The minister again made the assurance on the Floor of the House during the last Budget Session of the State Legislative Assembly while replying to the discussion on Grants of the department that a new law will soon be enacted to regulate the fee structures of the private schools but sorry to say all proved to be hollow promises," they added.
The State Legislative Assembly's session ended and the Darbar is about to move to Srinagar but leave aside the enactment of law regulating fee structures of the private schools, a concrete proposal for the bill to be introduced has not taken any shape.
It would be appropriate to say that the state government is completely helpless and have surrendered before the self-will of the private schools and there are remote chances that the promised law will be enacted this year as the next assembly session in Srinagar will be of very short duration.
Under such a scenario, the parents have no other option but to pay the increased fee without making any hue and cry as in order to secure a better future for their wards they will prefer to apply the phrase "Silence is Golden" in their dealings with the private school managements. |
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