Gujarat’s Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) has written to the District Election Officer (DEO) and District Primary Education Officer (DPEO) seeking a report on the action taken against private self-aided schools for any alleged violations of the Fee Regulation Committee (FRC).
The move comes in the backdrop of the Vadodara Parents’ Association’s (VPA) complaint that several top schools in the city have been flouting the regulation despite a government order.
“In the context of the complaint, what inspections have been conducted into the violations of FRC? How much fees have the schools been charging students and what action has been taken by your office?” the directorate asked in a letter dated November 3, seeking a report on the same.
VPA has also raised the issue of the 25 percent fee deduction announced by the FRC in view of the losses suffered by people during the pandemic as well as the charges levied by schools on students towards extra overheads such as transportation, meals, etc when the schools were not physically reopened. The parents’ association has sought that the announcements on school fees deductions, made by the previous Vijay Rupani-led government, should be officially notified vide a circular.
VPA, on October 27, had also written to state Education Minister Jitu Vaghani complaining that despite the FRC rules, top schools in the city were charging additional fees under various expense heads. “Over a period of four years, majority of the schools have adhered to FRC but (a) few known and top schools continue to charge their own fee structure and violate the law without fear… The current academic year was also impacted by the pandemic but there is a lot of confusion related to fees for the academic year 2021-22. The FRC should declare school fees for the forthcoming year 2022-23 by December to give parents and school management time to understand the structure and avoid disputes,” the four-point letter to Vaghani stated.