BHOPAL: The district administration has started making preparations for protecting the students and their parents from loot by the school managements in the name of admission fees, uniform and books. All private schools have been asked to upload details of their fee structure, uniform and books on their website.
District Education Officer DK Sharma informed that the collector wrote letters to private schools affiliated with the CBSE in this regard after the administration came to know that the schools pressurise the parents to purchase uniform and books from particular shops. Sometimes they also sell uniforms etc from the school premises and force the parents to buy the stuff from there. The prices are much higher than the market rates but the parents have no option.
On the fees front, the school do not provide clear picture of the fee structure to the parents. The schools seek money from the parents on one pretext or the other throughout the year.
To stop these wrong practices, the district administration has ordered the schools to display their fee structure, list of shops where books and uniforms are available on their notice boards and also convey them to parents. A monitoring cell had been instituted to receive complaints from the parents. The district collector will take the action if the schools force parents to purchase books of particular publishers or from particular shops. The same will be done in case of uniforms.
Some of the schools claim that they are following the instructions given by the administration. Campion School’s Winston Vijay Minj and St Joseph’s Convent School’s Ravdeep Singh informed that their schools are following the instructions.
Their school uniform and books are available in more than five shops. Commissioner, School Education Dipti Singh Gour, informed that the department has told the schools that they charge any capitation fees from the students.
They have been instructed that the parents should not be compelled to buy particular book or uniform from particular shop. All the requirements should be available in open market. Importantly the schools have to upload their annual audit report on their website.
