Himachal govt mulls passing law to crack whip on erring private schools

The new law will bring private schools in the ambit of the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission.

The Himachal Pradesh government is planning to pass a law to regulate private schools in the state.

It came to the government’s notice that some schools were even charging for online classes. (Representative Image/HT File)

The move comes after the government received a large number of complaints about private schools charging an arbitrary fee during lockdown in violation of government orders. Education minister Suresh Bhardwaj said, “The government is considering enacting a law to rein in private schools, especially with regard to the fee structure.”

He said the new law will bring private schools in the ambit of the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission. Education department officers have been asked to prepare a draft .

Bhardwaj said amid the lockdown imposed in wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, private schools were asked to charge only tuition fee from students. However, several complaints were received in which parents alleged that private schools were charging for different funds apart from the tuition fee. “Some schools were even charging for the online classes,” he said.

Notably, the state education department can check private schools only under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. There is no other way to curb their arbitrary functioning.

The HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission covers only colleges and universities. The commission decides the fee structure and syllabus of the private colleges and universities every year. However, private schools do not come under its ambit. There are more than 1,400 private schools in Himachal.