Confusion prevails over provisional school fees

Ahmedabad: Contrary to the statement of the state government that schools can declare own provisional fees, district education officer Navneet Mehta said that provisional fees will be fixed by the fee regulatory committee (FRC). Sources in the education department said that the government is likely to announce the formation of the new FRC in line with the apex court order.
Mehta told the media that schools cannot fix their own provisional fee as they do not have the power to do so. “Schools which want to charge fees higher than the upper limit will have to submit their applications to the FRC by March 14,” he said. As of now the caps are: Rs 15,000 per annum for primary schools, Rs 25,000 per annum for secondary schools, Rs 27,000 per annum for higher secondary schools, and Rs 30,000 per annum for higher secondary science stream schools.

However, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said that till the FRC declares provisional fees, schools will be allowed to charge fees they propose. The committee will declare the provisional fee structure for schools by March 28. School managements can approach the committee for revision if they so wish.