E-Paper
Chandigarh private schools seek deferral of last date to upload balance sheets
Write to the district education officer asking for the date to be postponed by a fortnight.
Private schools in the city have sought the postponement of last date of uploading balance sheets on their websites saying that the matter is sub judice.
The independent school association has written to the district education officer in this regard. The body has asked for the date to be postponed by a fortnight.
Last month, the schools were asked to send compliance reports before July 4 regarding uploading of balance sheets online, along with the undertaking that they charged only tuition fee for the last academic year.
“This is to request you to postpone the last date for uploading of balance sheets on the school websites by a fortnight as the case related to this is still sub-judice in the Punjab and Haryana high court and is likely to be decided on the 14 of this month,” reads the letter.
The body has also requested that no coercive action be taken against schools till the final disposal of the case.
The fee regulatory body of Chandigarh had issued fresh show-cause notices to all 79 private schools of the city last month. This is the second round of mass show-cause notices issued to the schools for non-compliance of the provisions of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016. Previously on May 26, 51 private unaided schools of Chandigarh were asked to explain their position within seven working days.
District education officer (DEO) Harbir Anand said, “We have received the letter from them and I have forwarded it to director school education (DSE).”
However, DSE Rubinderjit Singh Brar said, “We will seek the details from DEO on Monday about the compliance by private schools.”
The standoff between the UT education department and private schools started when the UT directed them to defer the collection of school fees during the lockdown period. The schools, however, ignored the directive saying they won’t be paying salaries to their staff unless they were allowed to collect fees. Later, invoking the fee regulation Act, then DEO Alka Mehta asked the schools to upload their balance sheets online.
VIOLATING ACT PUNISHABLE OFFENCE
As per the Act, which was notified in 2018 in Chandigarh, if any school contravenes the provisions, it shall be punished with a fine between ₹60,000 to ₹4 lakh depending on the number of violations and the level of school (primary, middle, secondary).
