Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The Jabalpur district administration has ordered four private schools to refund Rs. 38.09 crore-- allegedly collected illegally from parents over the last few years.

The schools have been directed to return this amount to the parents within 30 days.

Additionally, each school has been fined Rs. 2 lakh for violating rules.

The district committee, formed under Collector Deepak Saxena, found that these schools had increased fees unlawfully.

The four schools...

The schools involved are St. Joseph Convent Girls Senior Secondary School, Gabriel Higher Secondary School, Delhi Public School Mandla Road, and Royal Senior Secondary School in Sanjeevani Nagar.

According to District Education Officer Ghanshyam Soni, these schools had charged 63,000 students fees from the 2018-19 to 2024-25 academic years, which was found to be unlawful after an investigation into complaints from parents.

The committee has ordered the refund of this amount and imposed the fine due to violations of the Madhya Pradesh Private Schools (Fee and Related Matters Regulation) Act, 2017 and 2020.

The school managements have been instructed to deposit the fines into the HDFC bank account of the Commissioner of Public Education within 30 days and submit the receipt to the District Education Officer.