E-Paper
Private secondary schools under scanner for underpaying teachers in five UP dists
Education panel flags possible violation of rule requiring 75% of fee income be spent on teachers’ salaries; 35 schools in Prayagraj served notices
Private secondary schools in five Uttar Pradesh districts have come under scrutiny over alleged non-compliance with a rule requiring them to spend at least 75% of their fee income on teachers’ salaries, following discrepancies flagged by the state Legislative Council’s committee examining the commercialisation of education.
The committee ordered scrutiny of private schools in Prayagraj, Lucknow, Agra, Aligarh and Gorakhpur, and sought a report from the principal secretary concerned within a month, a senior official of the state secondary education department said.
The action followed an examination of financial records submitted by private schools in Prayagraj. The committee also examined schools’ income and expenditure statements for three financial years from 2021-22 to 2023-24, and found significant variations in the proportion of fee income being spent on salaries.
Records submitted in 2024 for three schools in Prayagraj showed that only Jagat Taran Golden Jubilee School met the prescribed 75% norm, while the other institutions fell short of it.
The scrutiny also found instances where the salary expenditure was less than half of the reported fee income. A prominent CBSE school in Shivkuti, for example, reported spending 34.45% of its income on teachers’ salaries in 2021-22, 42.33% in 2022-23 and 42.79% in 2023-24, according to the financial statements examined by the committee.
The documents submitted to the committee show that salary expenditure varied considerably among the schools across the three years, with several institutions reporting percentages substantially below the stipulated 75% level. The financial statements include year-wise details of income, expenditure on salaries and the corresponding percentage for the schools examined.
The committee expressed apprehension that similar discrepancies could exist in other districts and has consequently ordered a wider examination of records.
Following the directions, Prayagraj basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) Anil Kumar issued notices to 35 private secondary schools, seeking details of their total income and expenditure on teachers’ salaries.
“Reports have been sought from 35 schools regarding their income and payments made towards teachers’ salaries,” BSA Anil Kumar said.
The exercise is expected to establish whether the shortfall in salary expenditure is an isolated issue involving a few institutions or reflects a wider pattern among private secondary schools.
The committee’s scrutiny also brought the financial practices of private schools under greater examination, particularly the relationship between fee collections and expenditure on teaching staff, said officials.
