Curated By: Sukanya Nandy
Last Updated: December 12, 2023, 17:30 IST
Vadodara Parents Association (VPA), hence demanded the government put a cap on the maximum fees that a school can charge from its students (Representative image/Getty Images)
The association of trustees of private schools wants to raise the base annual fees to Rs 22,500 for the primary classes, Rs 30,000 for secondary classes, and Rs 37,500 for higher secondary students
The Gujarat government has currently set up a committee to revise the base fees charged by schools. Vadodara Parents Association (VPA), hence demanded the government put a cap on the maximum fees that a school can charge from its students. The state education department set the base fees per student for private schools at Rs 15,000 for the primary section, Rs 25,000 for secondary, and Rs 30,000 for higher secondary in 2017.
The association of trustees of private schools now wants to raise the base annual fees by 50 per cent. The association recommended the fees be raised to Rs 22,500 for the primary classes, Rs 30,000 for secondary classes, and Rs 37,500 for higher secondary students. They also suggested raising the fees for the science stream to Rs 45,000. Any school that would want to charge fees higher than the recommended base fees must apply to the fee regulatory committee (FRC) for consideration.
“Currently, even as the base fee is in the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000, the overall fees that the schools charge are much higher as they collect fees under different heads. We have demanded that the base fees should not be increased from the current level. At the same time, the maximum fees that a school can charge should be capped,” Dipak Thakrar vice president of VPA told the publication.
“Secondly, the district education officer (DEO) should issue necessary directives to all schools to put up a notice on their boards informing all the parents that they can submit their suggestions by December 20 so that maximum opinions can be submitted to the committee,” he added.
Also read | Transgender Students to Get Free Education in Public Varsities in Maharashtra
Meanwhile, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is set to commence education for classes 10 and 12 soon. The committee will begin class 10 in the next academic year and class 12 in the coming years. Last year, the committee decided to begin classes for grade nine across four schools.
