Andhra Pradesh School Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission (APSERMC) Chairman R. Kantha Rao on Thursday said that for the first time in the State, fees collected by private schools and junior colleges had been regulated and he warned of stringent action against managements violating the norms laid down by the panel.
At a press conference here, Justice Kantha Rao said ‘service’ and not ‘profiteering’ should be the objective of imparting education. He said the G.O.s 53 and 54 were issued stipulating the fee to be collected by private schools and junior colleges in the State for the next three academic years and these should be followed scrupulously.
In other States, a practice of educational institutions notifying fee structure, which is then scrutinised by the government before arriving at a final decision, existed, he said, adding: “Though there is an obligation to notify the fee by educational institutions in our State too, it has not been followed in the last 20 years, resulting in absence of a uniform fee structure.”
Last year, the recommendations of the commission could not be implemented as the matter was in court, he informed and said that the commission had arrived at a decision after an exhaustive study. “We do not intend to take any arbitrary decision. We are not here to close down schools, we are here to only regulate them,” he said.
Window for appeal
He said a lot of home work had gone into the fee structure prepared for various categories of schools and colleges and 80% of the institutions would not have any problem with it. If any ‘genuinely aggrieved’ management wanted to represent its case to the commission, it could do so within 15 days and “we will discuss the particular case and revise it if it is needed”, he said.
Replying to a query, he said ‘budget schools’ are seeking certain exemptions but they have unfounded apprehensions. Referring to suicides by students in certain junior colleges, the panel chief said their recommendation for withdrawal of recognition of such colleges was pending with the Board of Intermediate Education.
The commission members inspected 360 private schools last year and found many of them lacking in minimum facilities and recommended action against them. It also identified 120 colleges for violating norms and is seeking tough measures against them.
Stating that students, their parents or teachers had the right to oppose collection of more than the stipulated fee, he said such cases should be brought to the notice of the commission through the toll-free number 9150381111 between 10 a.m and 5 p.m. “The commission will take action within a week of receiving the complaint,” he said.
The commission Vice-Chairman V. Vijaya Sarada Reddy said the fee regulation measure was aimed at curbing the menace of private institutions fleecing parents by collecting excess money. The commission Secretary A. Sambasiva Reddy and others were present.
