Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite the state government’s directive to submit prescribed fees, syllabuses, and book details online, only a limited number of schools within the district have adhered to the mandate of uploading crucial information. It has come to the fore that only 12 private schools out of the 321 schools within the Bhopal district have adhered to the mandate of providing the required details regarding prescribed fee structures and other information online via the ‘Shiksha’ portal.
The directive, which necessitates the upload of comprehensive fee structures for the academic session 2023–24 across various categories and subjects, was issued with a clear deadline of February 8. Following the submission of the details by the schools, the district education officer (DEO) was instructed to inspect the schools, yet neither the DEO nor the schools have followed the order issued by the department.
In the recent order, schools were asked to upload the prescribed fee structure (in various categories and subjects) for the session 2023–24 on the Shiksha portal, including balance sheets, receipts and payment statements, and income-expenditure schedules. DEO, Anjani Kumar Tripathi, told the Free Press that “Only 12 out of 321 schools in Bhopal district have uploaded the information online. A district-level team has been formed to oversee schools that have not yet submitted the required details.”
Just a few adhering to directives
The state government has implemented the Madhya Pradesh Private School (Fee and Related Matters Regulation) Act 2017 and Rules-2020 to address the issue of unnecessary fee hikes by private schools annually. Despite yearly directives from the department, compliance remains low, with only a fraction of schools adhering to the directives.
