GUIDELINES ON PVT SCHOOL FEE ISSUE SOON: MINISTER

JAIPUR: Education minister Govind Dotasara on Wednesday said the government will soon issue guidelines on fee being charged by private schools during the lockdown period when all education institutions are shut in Rajasthan.

“We have readied guidelines regarding fees, online classes, syllabus and these will be issued once schools reopen,” Dotasara said. “Under the Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee Act), 2016, the government can regulate the fee structure in private schools and we will try to address concerns of parents as well as schools,” he said.

He said the department is taking opinion of experts on the issues of fees, online classes, syllabus and other matters that have been brought to the government’s notice.

Earlier, a delegation of parents of school students met the minister to raise its concern over the school fee issue.

Parents of students of around a dozen schools, united under the All Rajasthan Private Schools Parents Forum, have been running a ‘no school, no fee’ campaign. Their demands include waiver of admission charges, relaxation of up to 50 percent in tuition fee till schools are closed, no online classes for children below class 9 and no reopening of the school till coronavirus cases subsides. Sunil Yadav, president of the forum said, “We met the education minister Govind Dotasara and he told us that the government is planning to set up a committee to examine if any relaxation can be provided in full fees being charged by private schools during the lockdown period.”

Meanwhile, SMS Vidyalaya has announced a 25 percent fee cut in view of the pandemic.