Education department seeks explanation from 15 schools over fee collection in Chandigarh

This comes days after the Independent School Association (ISA) wrote to the UT education department to let them collect fee as they won’t be able to meet the financial obligations, including payment of salaries.

The Chandigarh district education officer (DEO) has sought explanation from 15 schools after complaints regarding fee collection were filed against these schools. This comes days after the Independent School Association (ISA) wrote to the UT education department to let them collect fee as they won’t be able to meet the financial obligations, including payment of salaries. However, when the education department asked schools to display their balance sheet online, none of the schools complied with the directions.

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Following the complaints of the parents’ association, the education department on April 24 had passed an order directing all the unaided private schools to ensure that income and expenditure accounts and balance sheets are uploaded on their websites by April 30, 2020, under the provisions of the Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institutions Act, 2016. However, even as the extended deadline of April 30 has passed, none of the unaided private schools have uploaded their balance sheets until now.

DEO Alka Mehta said, “After the complaints were received, we asked the respective schools for an explanation. Most of them said that it was a technical glitch and the schools that had asked for fee, rolled back their previous orders.”

“Since the fee collection was rolled back, we did not issue a show cause notice to any school and no further action was taken,” she added.

Regarding uploading of balance sheets online, Mehta said, “Majority schools allege that they do not have access to any accountant during the lockdown while other schools have simply not replied. No school has so far displayed its balance sheet online. I will send them a reminder soon.”

The education department in April had deferred payment of tuition fees for the 2020-21 sessions in government and private schools. It said that the dates will be announced later and a month’s time will be given for payment.

However, the private schools at their wits’ end over the directive to delay collection of school fee, had written to UT administrator VP Singh Badnore demanding that the education department either withdraw the directive on delayed fees payment or pay salaries of all private school employees of Chandigarh as well as Punjab.