Min: FRC to intervene in school fee hike

Mumbai: In a bid to address the issue of exorbitant fees in the schools, education minister Mr Vinod Tawde on Tuesday announced that the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) would take action if 25 per cent of parents complain about it. The minister said that the government is of the firm view that there should firm implementation of the legislation of fee regulation in educational institutions.

A report by retired judge V. G. Palshikar committee appointed on the fee hike has been submitted to the government. It has been suggested that the FRC can take action if parents complain about the fees. The minister was replying to a calling attention motion on the exorbitant fees charged by the schools in Mumbai.

In the reply, Mr Tawde said, "The existing legislation has no provision for redressal of parents' complaints regarding fee hike by schools. Now parents can complaint to the FRC as per the retired judge V. G. Palshikar Committee. The parents should participate in Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings. If the PTA is strong, there will be no irregularities in schools. There will be no compulsion to purchase school stationery from the schools. If parents do not wish, they will not be forced. Strict implementation of the fee regulation act will be done from this academic year."

Despite the implementation of fee regulation act from December 2014, parents kept complaining about the fee hike.