TO:
THE SPL.CHIEF SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION
GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA,
Respected Madam,
SUB: COVID-19 Pandemic- Request to issue necessary instructions to all the Private School Managements in the State, to reduce Tuition Fee to the extent of 40% during the Academic Year 2020-2021 and also to scrupulously follow the instruction issued in G.O.Ms.No.1, Education (P.S.2) Department Dt: 01-01-1994 and the provisions of RTE Act, 2009 - Regarding.
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I P.V. Kranthi Kiran S/o Ram Chander Rao, R/o Meerpet, being a parent of school student would like to bring following few issues to the Government’s kind consideration and necessary orders.
I submit that, in view of Covid-19 pandemic, income of most of the parents has gone down drastically and finance has been severely disrupted and most of the parents are not in a position to afford payment 100% of school/tuition fee as demanded by the Private Educational Institutions.
I would like to bring to Government’s notice that as there is no physical functioning of Schools, since March 2020 and Corporate Private Schools are saving substantial expenditure on various heads, including energy charges on electrical consumptions, transport and vehicular operation, sports and games, cultural event organization, Annual Sports Meet etc., management and operation of laboratories, computers, reduction of expenses on cleaning and maintenance of School Building etc.,
Further most of the private schools, are conducting online classes since June, 2020 by deploying only few teachers for taking such classes and even those teachers who are taking online classes are paid with 50% salary only. Further, most of the Private School Managements are not paying any salaries to their teachers and non-teaching staff. As such there is no loss in the revenue of the Private Schools.
All above factors, clearly substantiate that, there is a reduction in expenditure to the private schools on one hand and on the other hand there is no of loss of revenue to the schools, as it is collecting 100% fee on monthly instalment basis. Further in view decrease in maintenance cost, the private schools may not sustain any loss even if tuition fee is reduced to 40%. Further as per the CBSE guidelines, the schools can charge only fees to the extent of the expenses for running the school and levy of fees is to be without any profit motive
Further, due to conducting of online classes by the Private schools, the parents who were not having gadgets/laptops were over burdened and they were compelled to purchase the new laptops/gadgets, during the pandemic situation and financial crisis. Further apart from paying monthly tuition fee, there is an additional burden of payment of internet charges, as the parents were left with no option except to take broadband connection for the purpose of facilitating their child for online class.
Further, I submit that, already the Government of Assam, considering the requests received from the school parents of private schools and considering all the above aspects, has issued instructions to private school managements of its State to waive 25% school fees during this Year ( Government of Assam Education( Secondary and Elementary) Department Memo No. ASE/ 498/2015/Pt-Iv/18 D: 13-08-2020).
Further I humbly submit that the Government of Telangana in its G.O 244 Dt: 29-12-2017 School Education (Gen ) Department directed that all schools must follow 1) The Telangana Education Act, 1982, 2) G.O.Ms.No.1, Education (P.S.2), 01-01-1994 and amendments thereon 3) RTE Act 2009, particularly section 13 of said act which says that no school shall collect capitation fee.
In this regard I submit that, most of the Corporate Private Schools have concluded new admissions before March’2020 i.e., well before starting of lock down period, and they have collected lump sum amounts towards donations/capitation fee from the parents of newly admitted wards. The Corporate Private School Managements have cleverly included such donation/capitation fee in the Tuition Fee so as to get away from the provisions of Telangana Educational Institution (Regulation of Admission and Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1983. If the authorities of Government verify the fee receipts of newly admitted ward of a particular class and fee receipt of an old student of same class, it can be apparently ascertained that Private School Managements are collecting capitation fee in violation of provision of afore mentioned Act.
Further, I humbly submit that at present all the Private School Managements are enhancing 10% fee yearly, putting heavy burden on the parents. Though the Telangana Fee Regulation Committee headed by Sri Tirumal Rao has submitted a report Lr. RC.No. 1210/PS-3-1/(B2-2)/2010 Dt: 30-12-2017 recommending said 10 % hike per year, the Government in its Memo No.35/SE/Genl/A2/2017 Dt: 0-03-2018, addressed to Chairman, TFRC, Telangana stated that the said 10% hike, explained does not contain any logic or calculation. Further in the said Memo it has been also sated that, the Committed failed to observe legal position that the powers delegated in G.O. No.1 Dt:01-01-1994 to the Governing Body of the school to fix fee is actually in contravention of the Section 7 of Telangana Educational Institution (Regulation of Admission and Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1983, which clearly state that the fee has to be notified by Government only. . Inspite of the fact that the said report of Telangana Fee Regulation Committee is not yet approved by the Government, most of the schools are enhancing the fee, annually at exorbitant rates. In this regard we submit that in order to curb the unlawful practices of the Private School Managements, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has already formulated U.P. Self-Financed Independent Schools (Fee Regulation) Act, 2018(U.P. Act 40 of 2018) restricting the Managements not to enhance fee at their whims and wishes. The said act permits the Private Schools to increase as under:
//Permitted fee increase for existing students-A recognised school may revise its fee annually for its existing students by itself for each grade/class/level of school equivalent to average per centage per capita increase of monthly salary of teaching staff of previous year, but the fee increase shall not exceed latest available yearly percentage increase in consumer price index + five per cent of the fee realised from the student//.
I request the Government to formulate an act in Our State in the similar lines, to protect the parents from exorbitant hike of fees by the Private School Managements.
Further Rule 18(2) of “TELANGANA EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (ESTABLISHMENT, RECOGNITION, ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL OF SCHOOLS UNDER PRIVATE MANAGEMENTS) – RULES, 1993 issued vide G.O.Ms. No. G.O.Ms.No.1, Education (P.S.2), 01-01-1994 enumerates that following factors/criteria has be considered for fixing tuition:
(a) Expenditure involving payment of salaries and other benefit to the staff;
(b) Expenditure involving payment of rent for the building occupied by the institution and the upkeep of the building;
(c) Expenditure involving electricity and water charges;
(d) Expenditure involving office requirement like stationery, stamps etc;
(e) Expenditure involving class room needs like chalk, dusters etc;
(f) Expenditure involving purchase of books for the Library an chemicals and specimens for the laboratory.
(g) Expenditure involving payments to the Auditors engaged for auditing the accounts:
(h) Expenditure on contribution towards Education Cess:
(i) Any other miscellaneous expenditure.
Further in the G.O. 91 Education (S.E- PS-1) Department Dt: 06-08-2009, the Government held that the Tuition Fee shall be fixed basing on the salaries paid to the teachers and staff, retirement benefits, running expenditure, infrastructure and facilitates available.
In light of the above said rules, I submit that, as there is no physical functioning of Schools since March, 2020, due to Covid-19 Pandemic, the corporate schools which possess own buildings do not involve any such of the expenses shown above(para 9 &10), expect the 50% fee that they are paying to few teachers those taking online classes.
Further I humbly submit the Rule 18(4) of ANDHRA PRADESH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (ESTABLISHMENT, RECOGNITION, ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL OF SCHOOLS UNDER PRIVATE MANAGEMENTS) – RULES, 1993 states that The fees collected from the students shall be allocated as to meet the following requirements:-
a) 5% of the fees collected shall be earmarked as personal income to the management
b) 15% of the fees collected shall be utilized for the maintenance of the institutions towards expenditure involving the building rent, electricity and water charges, stationery etc., required for the Office Payments to be made to menials and auditors, purchase of library books, chemicals, specimens and other material required for the laboratory and expenditure involving the upkeep of the institutions etc.,
c) 15% of the fees collected shall be earmarked for the developmental activates of the institution i.e. expenditure involving opening of additional courses, classes, sections and up-gradations of the institutions, construction of additional accommodations, acquiring costly equipment and furniture, purchase of land for the use of the institutions and the like;
d) 50% of the fees collected shall be earmarked towards payment of salaries to the staff:
e) 15% of the fees collected shall be earmarked as management’s contribution towards staff benefits like gratuity, teachers provident fund, Group Insurance scheme etc.,
None of the Private School Managements are adhering to above provisions and most of the Managements are taking more than 40% of fees collected as personal income, more particularly during this pandemic situation as they not paying salaries to all the staff. However we to admit that the Budget Schools are suffering as they are unable collect the fees from the parents, but it is not the situation with corporate schools which are collecting hundred percent fee from the parents. ,
13. Further I submit that Rule 18(5) of said 1993 Rules, states that the Educational agency shall maintain separate accounts in one or more banks for the amounts allocated for various purposes mentioned above so that the amount allocated for a specific purpose shall not be diverted for another purpose. These accounts opened as specified above shall be operated through joint accounts in the name of the Secretary/Correspondent, management of the Institution and the headmaster/Principal of the institution and Rule 18 (6) states that The amounts falling under items (a) to (e) of sub-rule 4 are subject to inspection and auditing by the Auditors appointed for the purpose by the Governing body. Further Rule 20 of said rule enumerates that the Educational agency shall submit the annual administration report in the prescribed proforma to the competent authority for very financial year by the 30th September at the latest. Such report shall be supported by the audited statement of accounts of the school duly audited by Chartered Accountant. Separate accounts shall be maintained for each school. Similarly the educational agency, which is running more than one school shall also submit such returns within the stipulated time to the competent authority. But none of the private schools are adhering to above rules and none of Government bodies are factually inspecting those schools records and there is no proper mechanism and functionary body to supervise and audit the private schools .
14. Further most of the Private School Managements are not constituting the Parents Teachers Associations or School ,Management Committees in terms of RTE Act 2009. Further most of the schools, without following the guidelines issued by the Government, are constituting School Management Committees by including their supporters, without knowledge of the parents of the school.
15. Lastly I would like to bring to the Government’s notice that most of the corporate schools are collecting tuition fee on monthly basis, adhering to the G.O Rt. No.46 School Education(Gen-I)Department, Dt: 21-04-2020, without increasing fee. In this regard we submit that there was complete down of schools from March to June’,2020 and some of the schools commenced online classes from July’2020, as such when there is complete shut downs of schools from March to June 2020, and where the Schools have not paid salaries to any of its staff, the Government might have ordered for reduction of fees. The School Managements are collecting fees even for the months of March , April and May ’2020, where there was entire shutdown of affairs. The collection of school wee, when there was complete down of schools is not appropriate.
Considering all the above aspects, I humbly request the Government to pass appropriate orders, directing all the Private School Managements in the State
To waive at least 40% tuition fees during the academic year 2020-21.
To fix the fee structure of Private Schools in terms of Telangana Educational Institution (Regulation of Admission and Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1983, and to Establish an Effective Mechanism for School Fee Regulation.
To direct the Private School Managements not to enhance more than 3% fee per year or to formulate any regulation in the lines of regulation enacted U.P. Government.
To direct the schools to strictly adhere to the provisions of RTE Act, 2009 and to constitute Parents Teachers Association, duly following the guidelines issued by the Government from time to time.
Thanking You,
Yours truly
P.V.Kranthi Kiran,
B.Sc, LL.B, PGD-MISCA
Meerpet, Hyderabad
9490127914, 9542350436
