Following a stern action against 11 private schools, the district administration has ordered 10 private schools to refund Rs 69 crore which the school managements recovered from the parents/guardians in form of arbitrary and illogical fee hike. For this, the administration has given one month’s time to schools. According to the formula of fee return, adopted by the district administration, if any school charges annual fee of Rs 30,000 for nursery class and the administration has reduced the annual fee structure to Rs 21,000, then the school has to refund Rs 9,000 to the parent of every student. Same formula will be applicable in other classes as well. Although, even the school managements have been given the chance to appeal against the order issued by the District-level Committee at the State-level Committee within 15 days.

 

Meanwhile this formula is applicable on the hiked fee only. Investigation for uniform and increase in course, is still going on. If any irregularity is found, then the schools would have to refund its amount as well. A joint team of Administration, Education and Police Department is engaged in investigation on fee hike against 11 private schools since one month. One month back, the administration registered FIR against 51 persons concerned with 11 private schools. Out of 51 persons against whom FIR was registered, 21 were arrested and put behind the bars while 30 were still absconding.

 

Meanwhile, Collector Deepak Saxena told the remaining schools to themselves take decision on hiked fee. In the report presented by the inquiry team on last Tuesday. Based on which, old structure of hiked fee enforced by St Aloysius School, Polipathar, Christ Church Boy’s Senior Secondary, Christ Church Co-Ed. School, Saliwada, St Aloysius Senior Secondary School, Sadar, between 2018 and 2024-25 session, was cancelled and new fee list has been released. Earlier, the administration has reduced fee of six schools, including Little World School, Katanga, Christ Church Boy’s and Girl’s School, Stemfield International School, Vijaynagar, Chaitanya Techno School, Gyan Ganga Orchid International School and Christ Church Diocese School, Ghamapur, on Monday. Parents have been asked to deposit fee as per fixed structure. Collector Saxena has asked other schools to take their own decision on hiked fee. The District Education Committee has presented its report under Madhya Pradesh Niji Vidyalay Adhiniyam 2017. In its report, the Committee claimed that hiked fee worth Rs 69.19 crore were recovered from parents of more than 81,000 students. The two branches of Little World School, run at Katangi and Tilwara, have illegally recovered more than Rs 18 crore on the name of hiked fee. Similarly, two branches of St Aloysius’ have recovered illegal hike fee of more than Rs 17 crores from parents.