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Bhubaneswar/Mumbai: Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde said today that the government would take steps to ensure a firm enforcement of the fee regulation law in educational institutions.

Replying to a discussion on the issue raised in the state Assembly through a Calling Attention notice by Atul Bhatkalkar (of the BJP) and others, Tawde said at present, the legislation has no provision for redressal of parents' complaints against fee hike by schools.

To tackle this, a committee has been set up to address the complaints of parents, he said.

"Now, parents can complain to the committee headed by retired high court judge V G Palshikar," Tawde said.

He said parents should participate in meetings of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at schools.

If the PTA is strong, there will be no irregularities in schools, he said.

The minister also said that there will be no compulsion for parents to purchase stationery from the school.

"If parents do not wish (to buy stationery and books from schools), they will not be forced," he said.

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"A strict implementation of the Fee Regulation Act will be done from this academic year," he asserted.

In May last year, Tawde had announced that the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act-2011 would be amended to ensure that schools in the state do not charge exorbitant fees from students.

The Act had come into force in 2015.

The minister had also said that the CBSE and the ICSE schools in the state cannot force students to buy books from them.