The State Education Department is against fee increase across board in the new academic year in view of the impact on family income following the COVID-19 outbreak. “The general concept is that a fee increase should not be there in the new academic year in view of the pandemic crisis. It is a fact that family income has been hit after the lockdown came into force,” C. Ravindranath, Minister for Education, told The Hindu on Friday. The Minister’s response comes a day after the Kerala CBSE School Managements Association backtracked on its decision not to increase the tuition fee in the new academic year. T.P.M. Ibrahim Khan, president of the association, reversed the earlier position on Thursday by stating that schools could fix the fee in tune with the facilities provided after several member-institutions opposed the policy proposed by the association leadership.
Mr. Ravindranath made it clear that the Education Department had no plans to increase the fee in schools under it in the new academic year. “We are also against the increase in fee across streams,” he said.
On whether the government will issue an order against fee increase as done by a few other States, the Minister said a final decision could be taken only after further deliberations.
CBSE circular
A circular issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on April 17 had said that fee shall be charged under the heads prescribed by the Department of Education of State/Union Territories. Admission fee and fee charged under any other head were to be charged only as per the regulations of the appropriate government.
The affiliation by-laws of the board also empowered the State Education Department of the State/Union Territories concerned to decide the manner in which fee could be collected, it said.
