HYDERABAD: City schools will lose their recognition if they charge exorbitant fees this academic year (2011-12). The district administration has decided to put a leash on the managements of state board, ICSE and CBSE schools in the city who have already announced a hefty hike in their fee structure even before the commencement of the academic year.
While schools that come under the state board will be de-recognised by the officials, in the case CBSE and ICSE schools the DEO will withdraw the NOC (No Objection Certificate) if the rules are not followed. The state's NOC is required to obtain recognition from national boards like CBSE and ICSE.
Several city schools have decided to hike the fee by 20 to 50 per cent this year. But the district administration announced on Friday that the fee hike will be effective only if the parents' committee agrees to the same. The schools will have to give a detailed report on the fee structure and reasons behind the hike to the district educational officer (DEO) by June 10. They will also have to take a no-objection letter from the parents' committee by June 20. The detailed fee structure of each of the schools will be put up on the official websites of the schools and also the DEO Hyderabad's website, http://www.deohyderabad.com/.
Announcing the new system, Natarajan Gulzar, district collector stated that several complaints had come to his administrative office in the past regarding exorbitant fee hikes initiated by schools in the city. He stated that all the schools including international schools will have to comply by the rules.
The parents associations in the city welcomed the move but stated that some of the CBSE and ICSE schools have already collected the first term fee based on their increased fee structure. "The government has been slow in implementing the fee regulation in spite of parents' protests since the past two years. We hope the regulation comes into force soon," said Kamal Malliramani, member, Hyderabad Schools' Parents' Association.
Sushinder Rao, DEO, Hyderabad said that schools will also be categorised into four groups on the basis of their infrastructure facilities, quality of teachers and performance of students in public examinations. "The classification could later on decide whether the fee structure is justified or not. We have not taken a final call on whether the classification should decide the fee structure," stated the DEO.
The district education department will also take strict action against the erring schools in this regard. "We have taken criminal action against five managements and have closed down 16 such illegal institutions so far," the DEO said. The DEO also stated that fire safety norms prescribed by the central government should be put in place before the commencement of the academic year.
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