Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Oct 20: Private schools are once again in news for wrong reasons. Parents, whose kids have been enrolled in these institutions this season, are alleging that these schools are charging hefty amounts as annual charges that too in cash.
Recently a video went viral on social media which revealed a parent telling the staff members of a private school why is being asked to pay the cash and why no receipt number is mentioned on the receipt.
A parent while talking to Precious Kashmir said, “These schools are defying the government order about not to charge the admission fee. They are taking the admission fee but in a different way. They have changed the mode of payment and are ensuring that the money which parents pay is not accounted for.”
It’s in place to mention here that after J&K’s reorganization Right to Education Act has become applicable in the Union Territory.
The section 13 of RTE states: “No school or person shall, while admitting a child, collect any capitation fee and subject the child or his or her parents or guardian to any screening procedure. Any school or person, if in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1), receives capitation fee, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to ten times the capitation fee charged; subjects a child to screening procedure, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees for the first contravention and fifty thousand rupees for each subsequent contraventions.”
The parent said, “Despite RTE becoming applicable in J&K, the private schools are charging the capitation fee but under a different head. We had raised this issue soon after the admission season commenced but the private institutions have not paid any attention towards the government order.”
It may be recalled that soon after the issue of schools charging the capitation fee had come to fore the Private Schools Association had asked the institutions not to charge any such fee from the children seeking new admissions.
The parents claimed that the private schools this year charged anything between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh as the annual charges from the new admissions.
Recently, the government constituted School Fee Fixation Committee (SFFC) and amended the law. Now the aggrieved parents can send their applications to the committee with proofs. Once the applications are submitted to the committee, they will recommend action against erring schools as per law. (Precious kashmir Report)
