Maharashtra: Parents dub 15% fee cut proposal as ‘eyewash’

PUNE: Parents’ associations have dubbed the state government’s announcement on Wednesday of a 15% cut in private school fees as “eyewash” as they believe no school will implement the order.
The parents pointed out that even last year the state government had told schools to follow the fee pattern of 2019-20, but many had hiked fees. They further demanded that an audit of all schools be carried out after which a decision to cut fees should be taken depending on how much fee the school collects, their expenses and profit. Meanwhile, private schools’ representatives have described the move as “illegal’. They said the state government does not have the authority to slash fees charged by private schools.
Anubha Sahai, president, India Wide Parents’ Association, said, “The blanket rule will not help. They also need to amend the Fee Regulation Act to allow individual parents to approach the district fee regulation committee to file complaints regarding fee issue, instead of making it compulsory for at least 25% of parents to lodge complaint for the application to be accepted by the Divisional Fee Regulatory Committee,” Sahai said.
Advocate Markas Deshmukh said that since there is no provision in the Maharashtra Fee Regulation Act, 2011, regarding reduction in fees, the decision to cut 15% fees in private schools in Maharashtra will not stand in the court if the schools decide to challenge it.
Rajendra Singh, president, Independent English Schools Association of Maharashtra, said that the decision will hit budget schools hard. “Many schools will have to close down because of the heavy financial burden on them. There should be clear mention of what should happen to wilful defaulters among parents. We have asked our legal team to look into it so that we can take appropriate action,” said Singh.