CAG blames poor government machinery for exorbitant school fees

HYDERABAD: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on implementation of Right to Education (RTE) in Telangana raised the issue of exorbitant fees being charged by private schools in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medak districts and pointed out that this is due to a deficient internal control mechanism in Commissioner and Director of School Education(C&DSE) department. The report also said that it is a reflection of the lack of any government control on private unaided schools.

The CAG report cited a report submitted to Telangana government by C&DSE, in which it mentioned that none of the 174 schools identified to be charging exorbitant tuition fees as high as `5.42 lakh and one time admission fees as high as `1 lakh, have submitted their Annual Administrative Reports and audited accounts. The audit report also mentioned that even though show-cause notices were issued to 91 schools, final outcome is still awaited.

The audit report mentioned that it found cases of private schools conducting screening tests, collecting capitation fees, charging exorbitant tuition fees etc, which are violations of the provisions of RTE Act.

Poor quality of education
After various reports like National Achievement Survey and the Annual Status of Education Report, now the CAG report has also exposed various issues that plague education in Telangana.
CAG found that 14-26 per cent children in primary schools and 21-47 per cent children in upper primary schools scored less than 40 per cent between 2014-17.

The various drawbacks pointed out by CAG report include - delays by as much as six months by state and central government in releasing funds; non-utilization of money allotted for school education by Project Approval Board (PAB) as of the sanctioned `5,360 crore by PAB, only `2,693 was released by state and central government in 2014-17; meagre amount being spent on quality improvement in government schools (just 26 per cent of released money), and lack of system for tracking academic progress of children.

The list also includes lack of kitchen-cum-store rooms in 42 per cent government schools as a result of which midday meals are cooked in unhygienic conditions, lack of transport facility or non-payment transport allowance to 44,412 eligible students who do not have a school within their area of limits as prescribed by RTE, shortfall in teachers training and lack of constitution State Advisory Council.