‘Act to be amended to ensure schools don’t overcharge’

Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde on Monday announced that the Regulation of Collection of Fee Act, would be amended to ensure that schools in the state do not charge exorbitant fees from students. “We will bring necessary amendments in Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2011,” the state education minister said.

The act had come into force in 2015.

Tawde also said that the CBSE and the ICSE schools in the state cannot force students to buy books from them. “The school management should put a detailed list of books required for a particular educational year and let the parents of students buy them. The schools’ managements can also mention the shops that sell those books,” the minister said.

He was speaking after chairing a meeting with the parents of school students from Pune and representatives of the schools.

“Educational institutions should not prioritise profit while running the school. Those institutions, which are found doing it, will face the consequences. The state is concerned more about the education of students,” Tawde added. According to him, as per the directives, a parentteacher association has to be set up and the meetings should be a video-recorded.

The representatives of schools from Pune justified their policy of fee hike claiming that they have to face several sudden and unwanted expenses annually. Parents also raised several objections during the meeting. PTI