State withdraws stay on school fee hike

The state government is unlikely to come to the aid of parents unhappy with the hikes in school fees.

The state government is unlikely to come to the aid of parents unhappy with the hikes in school fees.

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The state’s school education department has formally taken back its directive, dated May 2009, staying fee hikes in all private, unaided schools.

This follows the government’s request to extend the deadline for finalising the new fee structure by another eight weeks before the Bombay High Court on February 17.

The department on Tuesday issued a government resolution staying its earlier decision that bars all private schools from hiking the fees until the next Bombay High Court order.

The next court hearing will come up in April, by when most schools would have increased the fees.

Following this decision, say parents, there will be no locus standi to challenge the school managements’ decision to stay fee hike for the next academic year.

“It’s like the last nail in the coffin. Schools had got interim relief last year to hike fees because the state did not take a decision. The state government has still not taken the decision and now it has taken back its earlier directive,’’ said Milind Vaidya, parent of a

Class 5 student from an ICSE school.

However, State School Education Minister Balasaheb Thorat told Hindustan Times: “It’s a controversial issue.

We will start public meetings of all stakeholders asking

their suggestions and objections on the Kumud Bansal committee report in the coming week before we finalise anything.’’

Based on these Kumud Bansal committee report’s recommendations there might be change in the final fee structure policy.

The state government had not decided whether it would accept the panel report’s recommendations that allowed school managements to generate a surplus of 15 per cent of their total revenue.

Most parents claim the committee’s report is “too partial” towards the school managements.