Maharashtra education department invites suggestions on fee act

Flooded with complaints on fee hike at private schools, the Maharashtra education department has invited suggestions from parents and other stakeholders for amendments to be made to the fee act.

Flooded with complaints on fee hike at private schools, the Maharashtra education department has invited suggestions from parents and other stakeholders for amendments to be made to the fee act.

Parents stage a silent protest over the issue of fees during pandemic in Mumbai. (HT FILE)

In a government resolution (Gr) issued on Tuesday, the department stated that parents, activists and other stakeholders can send their suggestions and objections for proposed changes in the act on- https://www.research.net/r/feeregulation.

The state government recently formed an expert committee to suggest changes and revisions in the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011. As per the government resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday, the committee will look into the suggestions that are sent by various stakeholders before giving its report.

“There are several operational issues in the current fee act. Over the past few months, there have been a large number of complaints from parents regarding issues of fee hikes and fee-related disputes with private schools. While a committee has been formed to study the act and suggest changes if any, stakeholders can send their suggestions to the committee within a month’s time,” states the GR.

Parents said they are hoping the government takes note of the suggestions made in the past. “Parents had sent a detailed list of recommendations before the amendment to the fee act was made in 2018. However, the then BJP government ignored them and went ahead with the anti-parent provisions in the act,” said a parent.

The amendment allowed schools to hike fees by up to 15% once every two years. It also allowed schools to declare fees for the next five-10 years when a child gets admission in Class 1, thus undermining the role of parents and the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in fee related decisions. The act was called out for its pro-privatisation and pro-management stance, and its passage was followed by protests from parents across the state. While the resistance slowly faded away as the government turned a blind eye, the concerns raised then are now becoming major hurdles in addressing fee related disputes in schools.