HC directs govt to frame policy for fee hike in pvt schools within 3 weeks

Mir Farhat. Updated: 9/20/2017 1:00:01 AM Front Page

SRINGAR: Pushing towards putting a ceiling on the ever increasing fee in private schools, the State High Court on Tuesday directed the Government to frame a policy, facilitating schools for a hike in fee, after fulfilling a certain criteria.
The recent directions have come in the wake of extension to tenure of the chairman of Fee Fixation Committee for one more year, following an earlier direction of the court to reconstitute the committee or extend the term of the existing one.
"The state Government may frame a policy for increasing the fee of schools by a certain percentage across the board on annual basis dependent on certain criteria. The affidavit be filed definitely within three weeks," the Division Bench of the court comprising of Chief Justice Baddar Durrez Ahmad and Justice M K Hanjura directed the Government after it was informed the term of FCC has been extended by a year.
"The committee shall consider the representation of schools within three weeks and inform the court," the court directed.
The fee fixation has remained an important issue for government.
Earlier, on September 7, it has passed directions to the department of school education to give its inputs for the formation of an act for regularizing the fee structure in private schools.
"It is high time to enact an act so that students don't get exploited by private schools," the Minister for Education, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari had said.
"Through this act, we can fix the fee structure of private schools for the larger welfare of student community and the education system," he had added.
Earlier, senior advocate Sunil Sethi, who is counsel for private school, had submitted before the court that the State Government may frame a policy of increasing the fee by a certain percentage amount across the board on an annual basis dependent on certain criteria such as rate of inflation etc.
"If any school requires enhancement more than the prescribed rate then on a case to case basis, the Committee would consider the cases individually, "he had submitted.
The NC-Congress government in April 2013 had set up a fee fixation committe to fix and tackle unjustified fee hikes in private schools.
The Committe was formed after parents of children going to private schools demanded to fix unscheduled fee hikes.


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