Bhubaneswar: Though one month has passed since the directorate of secondary education submitted its report on fee structure to the School and Mass Education department, no steps have been taken in this regard.
In a letter to the deputy secretary of the department on November 14, the Directorate of Secondary Education had recommended the regulation of fee structure of private schools on basis of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
As per the recommendations, Rs 15,000 annual fee has been fixed for UKG students, Rs 17,000 for Class I-V students, Rs 20,000 for Class VI to VIII, Rs 22,000 for Class IX and X, Rs 25,000 for Class X and XII. Similarly, the directorate has recommended Rs 27,000 annual fee for students of the Science stream.
While the private schools are not ready to accept the fee structure proposed by the directorate, parents stated that there is a further room for reduction.
“We would not be able to run our schools if we follow the suggestions given by the fee committee. We would not be able to pay salaries to teachers and provide quality education and this will not be acceptable to anyone,” said Pratap Jena, secretary of the BJEM School, Bhubaneswar.
Begging to differ, Odisha Parents’ Association deputy chairman, Prasanna Bisoyi said “There are some schools which take lesser fees than the proposed fee structure. Therefore there is a need for simplification of the fee structure so that parents and students are not affected.”
Meanwhile, some guardians have raised concerns about the government’s lack of commitment in fixing up of the fee structure.
“The government’s commitment is missing which is why the fees of English medium schools are going up,” rued another parent.