Can't hike fee at random: Minister

NEW DELHI: There''s some good news for parents worried over the issue of fee hike in public schools.
Delhi education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely has said that schools will not be allowed to increase fees in a random manner. An institution will only be allowed to hike its fees if it provides a proper reason for the increase being proposed, he said.
According to officials, no school can hike its fees by more than 10 per cent in one year."An institution will be allowed to increase its fees only if it is able to justify the hike. The rule applies to any hike being proposed, including hikes up to the 10 per cent mark," said Lovely.
The directorate of education is now in the process of scrutinising revised fee structures submitted by various public schools.
"A clear picture is likely to emerge within the next few days," said Lovely.
The minister''s announcement may put to rest apprehensions of arbitrary fee hikes by schools that had been gaining ground among parents. Many had been fearing that all schools would hike fees by at least 10 per cent whether the increase was required or not.
"Many schools can try to take advantage of the confusion by increasing fees by at least 10 per cent which is the permissible limit," said president of the Delhi Abhivavak Mahasangh (DAM), Vijendra Kumar Gupta.
"The fee hike process must be made transparent and figures should be revealed to the public. Moreover, what will the government do about schools which hike their fee but give no intimation to the directorate?" said one parent.
According to DAM officials, parents can bring discrepancies in fees to the authorities'' notice by filling up a form available at the directorate of education.
"The form is available for a nominal cost and parents can send it to officials without mentioning their names. The fee anomaly committee then looks into the matter," said Gupta.
A number of public schools including prominent ones like Modern, Gyan Bharti, Springdales and Tagore International had decided to increase their fees from the new academic session.
Schools give merging of the dearness allowance (DA) with basic salary as the main reason behind the hike which ranges between 12 to 20 per cent.
While some institutions don''t have any objections on disclosing their current fee structures and the proposed hike, many others refuse to comment on the issue.
"Unfortunately many of us have skeletons hidden in our closets. When the existing fee structure is exorbitant, and the hike can not be justified, people will naturally shy away from the media," said one principal.