Schools against PTA role in fee hike decisions

Unhappy that the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) will have a role in determining the fee structure if the proposed fee regulation bill is passed in the next assembly session, school managements have instead suggested a state-level fee monitoring committee. The bill states that private schools will have to get any proposed fee hike approved by their respective PTAs ten months ahead of implementing it. The PTA and the management will then have to inform a divisional fee regulatory committee of the consensus on the fee structure.“Why should a PTA’s approval be taken?” said one management representative who attended the meeting. “The PTA should be concerned about the syllabus and planning activities, not with the fee structure. Every PTA has 40 or 50 members. Will there be uniformity on anything?” he added.

Instead, the managements suggested a state-level fee monitoring committee for the entire state to which parents can complain if they feel schools are profiteering.

They expressed reservations against various clauses in the proposed Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act at a meeting with government officials on Wednesday.

It was the second day that education minister Rajendra Darda and education department officials held a meeting to take suggestions before finalising the proposed act. Managements are also unhappy about the clause in the proposed act that says school officials will be liable to pay a Rs5-lakh fine and face up to three years of imprisonment if they collect excess fees.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Schools-against-PTA-role-in-fee-hike-decisions/Article1-704674.aspx

Government won’t rush water bill but okays school fee one

Mumbai: The cabinet on Monday gave its nod for the Maharashtra Educational Institution (Regulation of Collection of Fee) bill to be introduced in the ongoing budget session for discussions and passage.The education minister Rajendra Darda mooted the bill which if passed in both the Houses of the state legislature, would allow the government to determine the upper limit of the fees charges for school educations across the state and central boards in both aided and private institutions.

The act was essential following uproar among parents complaining against ad hoc fee hikes in private institutions. Pressures from various non-government organisations and education forums saw the government placing the draft proposal for public debate seeking suggestions on fee regulations. Sources indicated that the government will have to set in place a monitoring body to determine what constitutes the upper limit in the fee structures.

In another significant development the cabinet decided not to rush the controversial water bill following strong protests within the Congress. The cabinet after debating the issue took the view that the bill which has been hurriedly cleared in the state assembly needs to be further discussed. The bill which allows irrigation water to be diverted for industries will be referred to the joint select committee.

Highly placed sources in the government revealed to DNA, “The irrigation minister Sunil Tatkare had pressed for the passage of the bill in state council where it was listed for discussion on Monday. However, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan asserted that it would be unfair to push the bill without consensus within the Democratic Front government.” The Congress also elicited support from the opposition to stall the water bill.

The development in Jaitapur that led to violence and police lathi charge saw the cabinet ministers locked in heated arguments.The industries minister Narayan Rane, according to sources is highly perturbed with the development as it would give mileage to the Shiv Sena which is leading the anti-nuclear power project agitation in Jaitapur.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_government-wont-rush-water-bill-but-okays-school-fee-one_1533494

www.hindustantimes.com | 22Feb2011 | Mumbai

Want ward in school? Ask police to certify your character.

Want your child admitted to a reputed school? Be ready to produce a character certificate.

Sounds bizarre, right? But thisschool in Juhu has its argument ready. It has to do with security threats, the authorities say. Parents must submit a character certificate verifying that they have no criminal background. 

Fatima Sheikh (name changed), a parent who approached the school to get her kid admitted in senior KG, was prepared for long queues, interviews and waiting lists, but not for several trips to the police station.

According to the specifications of the school, the character certificate has to be obtained from the crime branch of the police. It must carry mention of any previous criminal case such as theft, murder and accident against the parents.

“We had to submit the certificate within 10 days. My husband had to take leave from work to ensure the progress of the certificate. We also had to give bribes to officers so that they would speed up the process,” she said.

The school authorities said they adopted this policy after the police issued an advisory in December 2010 to all city schools to step up security measures as they were likely to be soft targets for terrorist activities.

“This is a security measure to ensure that we don’t have the wrong kind of people entering the institution, which could lead to a security threat to all our students. These measures have been incorporated by our management after considerable representation from the parents and adequate thought to serve the best interest of our students,’’ said the principal of the school.

She said the school has installed closed circuit television camera network and provided additional security, both during and after school hours, as security measures. “We have asked the certificate from parents not to eliminate children of parents with a criminal record but to evaluate the risk profile based on the information provided,” she said.

If the parents are not happy, then the police are not amused too. A senior official from the crime branch said, “Running a background check on parents is a time consuming affair and requires many resources. We have to report even minor crimes like accidents. The process generally takes more than 30 days. It is taxing on the police department as well.”

Sunil Chavan, deputy director of education, said schools are not allowed to have any sort of screening process while admitting children. “A school leaving certificate, bona fide or birth certificate are the only documents that schools can ask for. We have not given the school permission to ask for character certificates,” he said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_want-ward-in-school-ask-police-to-certify-your-character_1502037

Principals may face jail for fee hikes

MUMBAI: Schools hiking fees unreasonably could face stringent punishment. Apart from de-recognition, representatives on its management committee could face imprisonment and a fine. The state school education department is finalizing a draft of the proposed legislation meant to regulate fee hikes.

The government is keen to introduce the legislation after complaints against schools regarding exorbitant fee hikes. The state government had introduced a government resolution (GR) in July 15 last year. Last September, it was set aside by the Bombay high court, saying schools could decide fees.

Contending that the court ruling against it was on technical grounds, the government decided to introduce legislation to regulate fee hikes. An expert panel was set up to study the regulatory mechanism in place in Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. The panel studied court judgments and rulings in relation to the case.

On the basis of its inputs, the department formulated a draft for the proposed legislation. Even as it is being given final touches, senior department officials shared light on the draft`s basic structure.

Similar to the Tamil Nadu model, the state plans committees headed by retired judges to regulate hikes. While managements can fix school fees, a hike will have to be ratified by the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA). If the latter finds it unreasonable, it could approach a committee, which will be divisional or district-level. The committee, comprising a retired judge, an official from the school board, and another person, will decide on the reasonability of the hike.

Faujiya Khan, minister of state for school education, said the draft was yet to be finalized.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Principals-may-face-jail-for-fee-hikes/articleshow/7220010.cms

School parents' forum files PIL demanding fee regulation

PUNE: The Forum for Fairness in Education, a non-governmental organisation formed by parents of school-going children has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) on September 2 in the Bombay high court seeking a fee regulatory system in state schools. The forum has demanded an act that could regulate school fees and has also requested all the state MLAs to intervene in the matter.

Jayant Jain, president, Forum for Fairness in Education, said, "We are against the tuition and capitation fees charged by schools. There are a few schools who call themselves international' schools. We want the government to define what really is international' as some schools use the term irrespective of whether they have any international affiliation or not. We have mentioned these two points prominently in our PIL."

According to Jain, some schools charge capitation fees to the tune of Rs 2 lakh, which is exorbitant. "It is even more than the tuition fees. A school in Mumbai charges yearly fee as high as Rs 6.90 lakh, which explains how desperate the need for fee regulation in the state is."

The forum is of the opinion that school managements will exploit parents if there is no restriction on fees charged by them. The forum has also opposed the school managements that collect money from parents under the title building fund' as schools cannot take money from parents for development of school infrastructure.

The forum conducted a meeting of parents and non-governmental organisations in the state regarding the PIL and decided that no parent will pay the hiked amount in fees for the current year.

"We decided that whatever percentage of fees is increased by schools will not be paid by parents across the state. According to the Right to Education Act, the school management cannot expel the students if he or she fails to pay fees. We will make use of this provision and inform every parent to refrain from paying any hike if effected by school," Sandeep Chavan, vice-president of the forum and joint secretary of the D Y Patil Public School parents association said.

The forum has started approaching MLAs and is asking them to take up the matter in the Assembly so that quick steps are taken to introduce an act for fee regulation. The forum has also demanded that a special assembly session be conducted to address the issue.

Government resolutions issued on school fees

MAY 8, 2009: The state school education department issues a government resolution (GR) on May 8, proposing a fee-fixation committee. The GR restrains schools from hiking fees for the new academic year and states that those schools which have already upped their fees will have to seek the approval of a proposed committee

JUNE 2009: A few unaided schools file a petition in court against the GR

JULY 8, 2009: A division bench of the HC allows schools to hike the fees till further orders

MAY 21, 2010: The education department releases two GRs stating that the government will set up a committee to review balancesheets of schools and only then allow fee hikes

JULY 15, 2010: A new GR is released asking schools to follow the fee regulation norms. It is implemented a month later

JULY 20: An association of private unaided schools informs the HC that it wishes to file a fresh petition challenging the July 15 GR

AUGUST 17, 2010: Two days after the Maharashtra government's new school fee policy came into effect, a division bench of the HC asks the state not to take any penal action against school management for hiking fees until further orders

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010: The HC quashes the latest GR on fee regulation

The Court's decision

On September 1, the Bombay high court set aside the government's decision to restrict and regulate fee hikes in private unaided schools. The court set aside two government resolutions (GR), including the one issued on July 15, 2010 that required a committee headed by the divisional deputy director of education to scrutinise the fee structure of private unaided schools. A bench of Justices D K Deshmukh and N D Deshpande held that the "the state did not have the power to issue the GR". The reasoned text of the judgement will be available later, but the judges significantly observed that: "In view of the 2002 TMA Pai judgement of the Supreme Court, the government cannot restrict or regulate fees of private unaided schools."

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6538394.cms?frm=mailtofriend

New norms for schools on fee hikes

MUMBAI: After the uproar over the Bansal committee report last year, the state government has come out with a less controversial government resolution (GR) governing school fee hikes and banning capitation fees.

It will now be mandatory for all schools to have a website and display details of their expenditure, revenue and fees. The school budget must be put up on the website as well as on the school notice board.

The GR lays out a formula to determine fees: Tally the number of sections (primary, secondary, higher secondary) and the terms at school and divide this figure by the number of children in school to arrive at an average figure for the school fees per child.

Although schools are allowed to make a reasonable surplus, the amount has not been specified. But before any hike (only once in 3 years), schools must consult the PTA over the matter and the fee-hike proposals must be made six months before the academic year begins.

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/New-norms-for-schools-on-fee-hikes/articleshow/6174471.cms