Karnataka Education Minister: Private Schools Can’t Charge More Than 70 Percent Fees

Karnataka Education Minister said that the government had to exercise the Right to Education (RTE) Act and also the Epidemic Diseases Management Act to fix the fee structure.

New Delhi: On Friday, Karnataka Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar said that private schools cannot charge more than 70 percent of the school fees, i.e., schools can’t charge library fees or development fees. This move comes after parents’ association protested outside his resident against schools that were still charging full fees even though schools are running during the pandemic year and many parents are facing financial loses.
Parents demanded the state government’s intervention as the private schools threatened to discontinue classes for students who fail to pay the full fee.
The Minister told reporters that only 70 per cent of the tuition fee collected last year could be charged for the current academic year irrespective of which board the school follows.
"The schools cannot collect any other fee but the reduced tuition fee. However, we welcome any school that voluntarily reduces the fee further. In fact, many private schools had implemented for a 25 to 30 per cent reduction in fee," he said according to an IANS report.  

The decision was taken after several rounds of consultations with educationists, elected representatives from the Graduates and Teachers constituencies, private school managements and parents' associations said Kumar according to reports.
"We have also realised that many schools have not been able to pay salaries to their teachers and have been facing financial losses since last year. In case of force or trouble from schools, then a separate committee has been formed by the government to look into these issues and take actions against such schools," quoted IANS Kumar as saying.
Many parents have lost their jobs due to the pandemic while some have been getting half of their salaries. The education minister also added that schools should make provision for payment of the tuition fee in three installments. The IANS report quoted him, "if any parent has already paid the full amount of the fees this year, the excess amount paid can be adjusted for the next academic year."
Kumar also told the reporters that there will be district and state level committees set to resolve any disputes over charging excess school fees.

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