Provisional fees of 57 schools slashed following SC order

Surat: Following the Supreme Court’s interim order, Surat zone fee regulation committee (FRC) has decided on the provisional fees for 57 schools. The committee has reduced fees to a minimum of Rs 690 and maximum of Rs 1.83 lakh.
According to the committee, it has stated only interim fees and if schools have any objection they can make representation to the committee within a week. Provisional fees for the schools that have been declared include schools from Surat, Narmada, Tapi, Valsad, Navsari and Bharuch districts.

In Surat, fees have been reduced for 25 schools to a minimum of Rs 250 and maximum of Rs 1.83 lakh. In Narmada district, fees of three schools have been reduced in the range of Rs 3,400 to Rs 20,000. In Navsari, fees of two schools have been brought down in the range of Rs 2,075 to Rs 12,600 whereas four schools in Tapi district have been asked to reduce fees to a minimum of Rs 3,000 and maximum of Rs 71,650.

In Valsad, fees of seven schools are reduced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 14,965 and in Bharuch fees of 16 schools would have be reduced with minimum reduction of Rs 690 and maximum of Rs 32,340.

Parents of large number of self-governed schools students in the city and across south Gujarat have been agitating against very high school fees charged by some schools like PP Savani School and others. In some private schools, students were not allowed to enter schools for not paying up the fees that was demanded and state government had to intervene to bring about a settlement between the parents and management of school.

Even now, despite the committee asking school management to follow the Supreme Court order and charge less fees number of private school managements are not willing to implement it and might wait till the final order comes.

A group of parents’ associations from various schools have started a morning-to-evening fast beneath Anuvrat Dwar bridge since April 15. On the fourth day, health of one of the parents Hitesh Saklecha, whose son studies in SD Jain School, deteriorated and a doctor was called for medical check-up.

“We want immediate implementation of reduction in fees as proposed by the state government. The school managements should cleared their book of accounts. We don’t want education to become a business,” said Jitendra Surana, father of a student of the same school.