UP government puts restriction on fee hike by private schools

Lucknow: In the parents-friendly draft legislation put forth by Uttar Pradesh government, the private schools cannot arbitrarily increase the fee.

Under the proposed legislation, now schools cannot increase more then 10 percent or so fee annually, while development charge will not not more than 15 percent of the total fee.

Uttar Pradesh government has invited suggestions from all the stake-holders in this regard by December 22 before finalising the draft.

After it comes into force, there will be no mid-session increase of the fee and all the schools UP Board, aided, non aided, private, CBSE, ISC will be bound by the new law.

All school have to upload the income expenditure on school website and will have to inform 60 days ahead of new sessions about the fee hike. The proposed mechanism also seeks to put a curb on the profit-making of trusts running schools and doing other simultaneous commercial activity.

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Basic principle

Schools will have to show their income expenditure schedule both in public and to the government and according to that the fee will be fixed. If income increases the student will be relaxed with the lesser fee hike. The Deputy CM and education minister Dr. Dinesh Sharma announcing the format said that what annoyed most of the people was arbitrary mid- session fee hike and we have curbed it. Now no school can do this, neither the school can take arbitrary amount on pretext of capitation fee, development charge, dress, shoe, books etc. Nor the school can bind a guardian to take the stationary or dress from particular shop or school campus only.

How much fee hike

Fee hike will not be more than Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 5 percent.

In this case it will be not more than 10 percent as CPI annually never increase by more than 3 percent.

Although schools are free to fix the fee for new admission but that too will be in compliance with the income expenditure formula given in the format.

If income increase then students will be given relaxation in fee hike in the session.

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What else is important?

School has to give clear information 60 days before the commencement of new session about the proposed fee hike.

Schools will give income expenditure annual report by 31^st December every year.

School may increase the salaries or wages in mid-session but no session fee hike

No school can ask for a fee of whole year in one go, it has to be monthly, quarterly, half yearly.

Now every commercial activity as marriage hall, shops etc will be accounted as income of school not the trust running the school.

Trust cannot run any activity using school fund other than educational one.

There will be a regulatory committee on divisional level with divisional commissioner as head and members as CA, Engineers, public servants, guardians nominated by the commissioner.

The committee will inquire into the complaints and have powers to penalize the deferring schools

If made a law in the present form it will be effective on every school, taking fee more than 20,000 annually.

Final call after December 22

Suggestions are invited by December 22, 2017 after which the call will be taken as whether it will be given a form of a government order by cabinet approval, an ordinance or will be passed as bill from legislature.