With minimal public support, the Gujarat education department is reportedly reconsidering its Schools of Excellence (SoE) plan.
By the end of the suggestion period, only 22 responses were received, with fewer than six in favour. The main concern was exempting SoEs from the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC), which critics say would let costly schools hike fees unchecked.
The proposal aims to grant SoE status to about 1% of schools—around 50 institutions from various boards—allowing them full freedom to set their fees.
A senior education department official said, “Of the 22 suggestions, at least four are in favour of SoEs, while the rest raise strong objections.”
One objection stated bluntly: “School authorities will do whatever they want in the name of SoE and will not be under government control. Many already ignore FRC orders and raise fees every year. Education has become a business; don’t allow SoE.”
Another noted: “Amending the FRC Act, 2017, to give SoEs the freedom to decide fees is like letting schools loot parents. With schools already flouting FRC norms, SoEs will become business hubs, not education hubs.”
Some feedback urged the government to prioritise strengthening basic education. “Focus on setting up excellent residential schools in each taluka to train students for NEET and JEE,” one suggestion read. Another proposed targeted support for poor and middle-class students in science streams in Classes 11 and 12 to help them secure admissions to medical and engineering courses.
A former academic offered 13 detailed suggestions, including increasing the cap from 1% to between 1% and 3% on a district-wise basis, depending on population and eligibility. They urged SoEs to emphasise 21st-century skills such as coding, AI, smartphone repair and robotics, and to ensure only schools following teacher recruitment norms are eligible.
Another strong recommendation was to prohibit SoEs from running coaching centres on their premises, even if teachers are trained to prepare students for competitive exams like NEET and JEE. Suggestions also included requiring SoEs to sponsor meritorious students from less privileged schools, participate in collaborative networks as per the CBSE Centre of Excellence framework, set up innovation schools and promote entrepreneurship.
One Ahmedabad school management submitted nine points, calling for a five-year implementation plan reviewed annually, performance-linked fees rather than a flat ceiling, annual financial audits, mandatory disclosures of academic plans, fee structures and board results, and the use of diagnostic tests such as SAFAL (developed by CBSE), ASSET (private test) and PISA (run by OECD) to identify learning gaps instead of judging schools solely on exam scores.
When contacted, a senior education officer said, “With only a few suggestions in favour of SoE, the proposal is being re-evaluated. There is no strong opposition to the idea, but the direction will be clearer in the coming days.”