Government to pay CBSE students' exam fees

New Delhi: The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday approved the government's proposal of paying the CBSE examination fees for class 10 and 12 students of its schools, a move that will cost the dispensation Rs 57 crore.

Around 3.14 lakh students studying in government and aided schools, besides the patrachar vidyalaya, will be benefited by the initiative. "The Cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday, chaired by the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, approved the department of education's proposal that the Delhi government will pay the CBSE examination fees of class X and XII students of government, government aided schools, including taken over schools and patrachar vidyalayas," a senior government official said.

"The Cabinet decision will benefit around three lakh fourteen thousand students, at a cost of around '57 crore to the government," he added. The government had announced that it will pay the fees following fee hike by the Central Board of secondary Education (CBSE) notified last month. The fees for general category students for classes 10 and 12 was doubled from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 for five subjects. The Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, who were paying Rs 375 earlier, will now pay Rs 1,200 for five subjects. In a special arrangement for the national capital, the students were paying Rs 50 only while the rest of the amount was paid by the Delhi government.