City school served show cause notice over fee hike

Vadodara: City-based Billabong High International School has come under scanner for charging more fees than the amount decided by the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC), Vadodara.
Based on complaints submitted to the district education officer (DEO), a representative from the office had conducted inspection of the school. After the inspection, the school has been served a showcause notice which it has been asked to reply within two days.
Education inspector Shweta Pargi on Wednesday said that it is clear that the school is charging fees more than what has been decided by the FRC.
Through the notice, the office has sought explanation from the school on why it is not following orders of the FRC despite the fact that fee revision committee has not issued any order whereby the fees can charge more than what the FRC has decided.
The school principal has also been asked to furnish an explanation regarding continuous absence from the school premises during site inspection.
Also, it has been asked to explain the reason why it is forcing parents to purchase kits including books, notebooks, bags among others from the school and also it claim that the books referred by the school will not be available at any other place in Gujarat.
The fees issue is brewing since last couple of days. “In front of the education inspector, a parent who had shown his readiness to submit fees as decided by FRC was threatened by the school administration. This reflects the high-handed approach of the school managements who are neither ready to adhere to FRC’s decision nor accept the interim order of the Supreme Court,” said Congress leader Rutvij Joshi, who has threatened to launch a stir if the school does not relent despite DEO’s notice.