September 26, 2011

Panel to check if schools’ fee hike justified

The Delhi government has notified a panel to look into the accounts of city’s unaided, private schools in order to ascertain the justifications of their fee hike.

The move comes after a direction by the Delhi High Court last month. It will allow parents to review the justification of the steep fee hike by Delhi’s private schools since 2006.

The notification was issued on Friday by the government’s Education department, specifying the members of the committee and their terms of reference. As ordered by a division bench of Justices A K Sikri and Siddharth Mridul, retired Justice Anil Dev Singh has been named as the chairperson of the three-member panel. The panel will look into the extent of fee hike required by each school on the implementation of the VI Pay Commission.

The court had also named chartered accountant J S Kochar as the second member of the panel and Delhi’s Chief Secretary has nominated Dr R K Sharma, retired Additional Director of Education, as the third member.
 

September 25, 2011

Private schools charging a whopping Rs 30,000 for food expenses

HYDERABAD: Here is a breakfast that should not be skipped, at least going by its price tag where a half cup of 'upma', one fruit and one salad per person costs about Rs 400. This is not the rate of breakfast in a star hotel but charged by some private schools in the city. Drilling a hole into the pockets of parents, several schools in the city are now charging as much as Rs 30,000 per quarter towards what is called 'food expenses', a compulsory item in the annual fee chart.

Though select city schools have been providing food to students since a decade now, however, their breakfast and lunch budgets have increased by 20 to 30% in the last three years. In fact, some schools charge a huge amount even from parents of kindergarten and primary school children, conveniently ignoring the low quantity of food served to them. While school authorities blame inflation and management charges for the rising cost, parents clamour for a reasonable budget plan.

In spite of charging a bomb, the breakfast lists of most schools are usually deficient. A quick look at most menu cards reveal that the quantity of food served is mostly rationed. For instance, in one of the schools located in Madhapur, the breakfast menu has two slices of toasted bread, jam and a fruit for as high as Rs 150 a person. Another school charges around Rs 300 for what they call the Indian meal, three poories or two rotis with a side dish. There are schools that charge about Rs 200 from students for serving them tamarind rice or even tomato rice.

While the price on the menu might sound outlandish and could be even higher than the breakfast rates in some of the busiest restaurants in the city, parents say that about 20 to 35% of the annual fee goes towards the food budget. "Some of us are spending as much as Rs 30,000 per quarter on just the food expenses. There are schools that charge much more than this from parents," said mother of a Class VIII student from the city. Parents said that if the schools do not make food compulsory, students would perhaps get a taste of healthy food. "Students, especially those in lower classes do not like the same old items that are served for breakfast and lunch over and over again," said a parent. The compulsory breakfast regime where students are not allowed to get food from home exists in most international schools in the city.

Some CBSE and ICSE schools that offer breakfast and lunch for students hike prices even when there is a very small variation in market prices. "With the food served in school costing so much, we have decided to make one parent representative monitor the mess menu and expenses. The expenses came down drastically after this was implemented," said a parent whose child studies in an international school.

The school authorities, however, have a different take on the price issue. "Maintaining a kitchen and staff is really expensive and the schools cannot run their kitchens at a loss. The same parents who complain about the tariffs would raise a hue and cry the moment we suggest the withdrawal of this facility," said the principal of a Serilingampalli-based school. Officials said that breakfast and lunch facilities cannot be made optional as one needs a minimum number of takers to run a kitchen.

"Schools must have separate toilets’

Apex Court Seeks Affidavits From Chief Secretaries For Fixing Time Limit

New Delhi: After ensuring drinking water in all government schools by fixing October 15 as the deadline, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday took the next step by asking the states and Union territories to fix a time period within which boys and girls would get separate toilet facilities.
A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma did a roll call of the states and UTs about drinking water facility in government schools and complimented states which have achieved cent per cent target. Those who passed with flying colours, sadly after 64 years of independence, were the BJP and non-Congress ruled Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Congress-ruled Maharashtra too joined the NDA states in providing water in every school.
But, BJP-ruled Karantaka, BSP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana and Rajasthan were asked by the bench to provide drinking water to students by October 15. West Bengal had provided drinking water in all districts except Darjeeling.
Justices Bhandari and Verma patiently explained to the education secretaries of the erring states the importance of providing drinking water and other infrastructure in schools and suggested that they draw the chief minister's attention. “Without drinking water facility, the schools are as good as closed,” they said.
The bench said the importance of toilets in schools — separate one for girls — was intrinsic to right to education. “Wherever the schools have separate toilets for the girls, the enrolment is high,” it said and asked the chief secretaries to file an affidavit by October 15 stating the time period within which this facility would be put in place in every government school. The proceedings came on a PIL filed by Environmental and Consumer Protection Foundation, which through advocate Ravindra Bana had initially complained about lack of water in government and municipal schools in Delhi.
Senior advocate R K Khanna informed the bench that every government and municipal school in Delhi now has water, electricity and toilet facility.

Time of India | Hyderabad | 24th September, 2011 | Page 15

September 19, 2011

State can have a say in pvt school fee hike: HC

MUMBAI: Private unaided schools cannot have it their way entirely when it comes to fixing fees. They have the discretion to fix their own fees without prior state approval, but the state can step in to regulate the fees if the school management recovers from students any "unusual expense, such as exorbitant expenditure on building rent", the Bombay High Court ruled on Friday. The HC rejected a challenge by Vibgyor High School and charitable trust Rustom Kerawalla Foundation to the authority of the state deputy director of education in deciding on its fee hike, and upheld a 2009 order by the officer directing the school to lower its fees to an amount he fixed.

The HC judgment essentially upholds the principles of the Capitation Fee Act, hits out against commercialization by private unaided schools and makes it clear that schools "run the risk of legal action under the Act if they to pass on any of its 'unusual expenses' to students without an approval from the state". The HC held, "Institutions can receive or collect fees to compensate the "usual expenditure" incurred by it as approved by the State Government. No more and no less." It said expenditure on lands and buildings or any other items as the state may notify is plainly excluded from being charged in the form of fees. The school and the Trust had challenged, through separate petitions, two 2009 orders of the Maharashtra deputy director of education against the school's steep fee hike to recover Rs 2.5 crore annual rent it paid for the school building.

Deputy director V K Wankhede had disallowed the school to recover through fees its exorbitant building rent paid to a company whose directors were the same trustees from the Kerawalla family. He directed the Goregaon ICSE school to charge lower fees of Rs 54,598 per year for primary and Rs 61,149 for secondary, from 2008-09. The school argued that a deputy director had no jurisdiction to decide the school's fees unless the state first approves the fee structure of every individual private unaided school. The state cannot delegate or depute to any officer or body its task to approve fees, the school contended. Besides, it said, the deputy director had been asked by the HC, through an earlier order, to look into a July 2007 complaint made by parents against the school, which questioned its education standard and safety aspects but not fee hike issue.

Parents alleged the school trustees wanted to siphon off funds under the guise of rent.

Finding no merit in the school's challenge, the HC disposed both petitions, with costs. The HC held, "The complaint dated July 19, 2007, by parents included an issue regarding excessive fees being charged by the school." And held, "The Deputy Director was competent to examine that grievance to ascertain whether there is or has been contravention of the provisions of the Capitation Fee Act." The court noted the school had also not furnished the education department with any documents on the rent despite being requested to.

The HC bench of Justices Ajay Khanwilkar and Mridula Bhatkar held that in the absence of the state's approval, the school management would now have to produce all details about its rent payment for scrutiny and approval of the state.

No fee hike in private schools : Orissa HC

CUTTACK: The Orissa high court said all private schools in the state, including the English medium institutions, should abide by the provisions of Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 and coming under Orissa Education (OE) Act.

The state government had in April 2009 allowed the English medium schools to increase their school fees by 25 per cent and their development fees by 15%. Delivering a verdict pertaining to DAV school fee hike case, a single-judge bench of Justice M M Das said all the private schools in the state, including the English medium ones, are under the purview of Orissa Education Act, thereby refusing to accept the contention of DAV school management that they do not come under the OE Act.

The high court also directed the state to form a high-level committee under the head of director, School and Mass Education, within four months to look into the fee structure of all private schools. "The private schools wishing to make any change in their fee structure shall apply to the committee which, in turn, shall dispose off the applications within 90 days," the HC said.

In last April, the court had reserved the verdict after completion of hearing.

The judge thus struck down the earlier notification of the DAV management asserting that the schools should continue with their fee structure of 2008-09 academic year. The decision of the state and subsequent fee hike notification of DAV school management was challenged in Orissa High Court by Parents' Association of Cuttack-based DAV school terming these (fee hike) "uncalled for, unilateral and arbitrary."

HC sets up panel to look into school fee hike

NEW DELHI: Schools in the capital will now be subjected to greater financial scrutiny. Delhi high court on Friday set up a three-member panel headed by a former judge to examine the legal validity of fee hike by
private schools from 2006 onwards.

A division Bench comprising Justice AK Sikri and Justice Siddharth Mridul said till the committee decides on the validity of the fee hike, the government's notification permitting unaided private schools to hike their tuition fees will be valid.

The committee, headed by former judge Anil Dev Singh, will audit the accounts of each school to ascertain if the hike was required. It will scrutinise the accounts of minority schools as well. "If the committee finds that the hike was not required, schools are bound to return the money to students with 9 per cent interest rate," the Bench said. The panel will also comprise J S Kochar, a chartered accountant, and an official from the directorate of education, to be nominated by the Delhi government's chief secretary.

The Bench made it clear that the city government's 2009 notification will be treated as an interim measure but it would be subject to the scrutiny. "The guiding principle is "to strike a balance between autonomy of such institutions and measures to be taken to avoid commercialisation of education." The autonomy can be ensured by giving first right to such schools to increase the fee. At the same time, the quantum of fee to be charged by unaided schools is subject to regulation by the DoE," the Bench observed.

HC rejected demands by the petitioner for a greater say of the parents association in the financial management of the school by the management and suggested the state government create a permanent regulatory authority, either by amending the Education Act or by enacting a new legislation, to resolve the issue of periodic hike in tuition fee. It also suggested the Central government to frame a `National Policy On Fees' for unaided schools.

The Bench's order came on a PIL which had alleged that despite CAG's indictment of 25 private schools for accounting malpractices including faking losses, the government has allowed them to hike tuition fee.

HC was hearing a PIL filed by Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh through its counsel Ashok Aggarwal, challenging the government's decision to allow schools to hike tuition and development fees.

The government notification, which was issued on February 12, 2009, had said that any school, which was charging a monthly fee of Rs 500, will be allowed to hike Rs 100. Likewise, any school charging a monthly fee of Rs 1,000 will be allowed to effect a maximum hike of Rs 200. Schools with a monthly fee of Rs 1,500 were allowed to hike tuition fees by Rs 300 and those having a fee structure ranging from above Rs 1,500 to Rs 2000 were allowed to hike it by a sum not more than Rs 400. The rest of the schools - with monthly fees of more than Rs 2,000 - were allowed to hike it by Rs 500. The Delhi Cabinet had approved the hike ranging from a minimum of Rs 100 to a maximum of Rs 500 in the schools to ease their financial burden due to hike in teachers salaries as per Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

Audit of private schools: HC notice to govt for not notifying panel

NEW DELHI: Accusing the state government of deliberate delay in empowering a Delhi high court-appointed panel tasked with carrying out audit of private schools, a parents' association on Friday moved HC, seeking implementation of its orders.

The association blamed the government of being slack in notifying the committee , and alleged that it had not even begun the job of providing the committee with manpower to serve its purpose.

A division bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Siddharth Mridul issued notice to the government, seeking its reply by September 9. Earlier, the same bench had issued directions to set up a committee headed by former judge Anil Dev Singh to audit the accounts of each of the schools to ascertain if the hike was required. The bench authorized the committee to scrutinize the accounts of minority schools, too. That order had come on a PIL, which alleged that despite CAG's indictment of 25 private schools for accounting malpractices , including faking losses, the city government had allowed them to hike tuition fee.

"If the committee finds that the hike was not required, the schools are bound to return the money to students with 9% interest ," the bench had said in a 143-page verdict on August 12. The committee also comprises J S Kochar, a chartered accountant , and an official from the Directorate of Education, to be nominated by the Delhi chief secretary.

September 5, 2011

BE READY TO PARTICIPATE IN DHARNA ON SUNDAY 09 OCTOBER 2011 AT RAJGHAT FOR REFORMS IN SCHOOL EDUCATION 

AIPA extended core committee has today decided to hold a Peaceful Dharna on Sunday 09.10.2011 at Rajghat, New Delhi  from 10 am to 1 pm demanding
(i) Upgradation of all Govt Schools all over the country to the level of Central Schools,
(ii) Enactment of a Central Law to Regulate Fees in Unaided Private Schools,
(iii) Resolutions by all State Assemblies in favour of the Bringing Central law to Regulate Fees in Unaided Private Schools and
(iv) Initiation of criminal action against the all the unaided schools having been indicted by the recent ‘CAG Report on top 25 unaided schools’.

Plans to have this protest across the country near respective state assembly's.

September 3, 2011

All India Parents Association (AIPA) is holding its Extended Core Committee meeting on Sunday 04 September 2011 at Canteen, Western Wing, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054 from 11 am to 01 pm to discuss over the preparations for organising day long DHARNA on Sunday 09 October 2011 at RAJGHAT, DELHI demanding upgradation of all Govt schools to the level of Central Schools and enactment of a Central Law to regulate fee in unaided private schools all over the country. All are invited.

Explain why panel on school fee hike not notified yet: HC to Govt

NEW DELHI: Accusing the state government of deliberate delay in empowering a Delhi high court-appointed panel tasked with carrying out audit of private schools, a parents' association on Friday moved HC, seeking implementation of its orders.

The association blamed the government of being slack in notifying the committee, and alleged that it had not even begun the job of providing the committee with manpower to serve its purpose.

A division bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Siddharth Mridul issued notice to the government, seeking its reply by September 9. Earlier, the same bench had issued directions to set up a committee headed by former judge Anil Dev Singh to audit the accounts of each of the schools to ascertain if the hike was required. The bench authorized the committee to scrutinize the accounts of minority schools, too. That order had come on a PIL, which alleged that despite CAG's indictment of 25 private schools for accounting malpractices, including faking losses, the city government had allowed them to hike tuition fee.

"If the committee finds that the hike was not required, the schools are bound to return the money to students with 9% interest," the bench had said in a 143-page verdict on August 12. The committee also comprises J S Kochar, a chartered accountant, and an official from the Directorate of Education, to be nominated by the Delhi chief secretary.

Counsel for the parents, Ashok Aggarwal, told the court he is apprehensive about the committee facing resistance and non co-operation from the state government akin to the Justice Santosh Duggal Committee, which had led to "great injustice to lakhs of hapless parents". He urged HC to fast-track the process of notification of the committee so that audit of schools could be carried out to verify if hike in fee by them is justified.

In its judgment, the court had also suggested to the city government to create a permanent regulatory authority, either by amending the Education Act or by enacting a new legislation, to resolve the issue of periodic hikes in tuition fee. It also suggested the Central government to frame a national policy on fees for unaided schools.