Private schools must put financial data on website

The Telangana Education Department on Wednesday released a government order regarding the introduction of a new website for all private and unaided schools, including those affiliated to the CBSE, ICSE, and Cambridge boards. The order asks schools to enter details of their income and expenditures for the past three years and details of fee structure on the site. This comes as a victory for parents who had been protesting against fee hike.

Vishnu Venugopal, a chartered accountant, says, “There should be continuous monitoring of schools throughout the academic year to ensure that extra classes, tournaments and other events are conducted with the extra fees mentioned in the accounts.”

Many schools are yet to be notified about the order. The last date for submission of details is September 15. If schools fail to comply, action will be initiated against them. Mr S. Shankara Chary, the principal of Indus Universal School says, “I am yet to receive information about the order. Obviously, some schools will not feel comfortable sharing this data.”

While parents hope that this step will help bring in more transparency, they also fear that data may be tampered with.

Srinivasa Chary, the district educational officer of Warangal, says, “The data entered by schools will not be accessible to the general public. It will be available only to the school management and the education department.”

Parents want to be involved in the implementation of this GO.

A member of the Hyderabad Schools Parents’ Association says, “The Centre has been successful in regulating fee hike through quick action.”

Schools have to upload information on: www.cdse.telangana.gov.in