Hyderabad: Parents resist schools' entry on fee panel

Hyderabad: Parents are opposing the entry of private school managements on the fee regulatory committees even as a panel comprising senior officials from the education department is preparing its recommendations on the matter to the government.

Parents want neutral members — retired judges, financial experts like chartered accountants — to be part of the panel to be constituted for each district, as per Supreme Court directions.

The Hyderabad School Parents Association said retired judges from district courts should be requested to head the district panels, the state body should be headed by a retired High Court judge.

“Having neutral members for the district fee regulatory committees, as in the case of the Admission Fee Regulatory Committee, that decides fees for professional courses, should be the priority. The views of stakeholders could be sought but the committee should be independent and comprise experts,” association joint secretary Venkat Sainath Kadapa said.

There were differences of opinion regarding schools coming under the purview of these regulatory bodies.

While school managements want institutions in GHMC limits with a tuiti-on fee under '40,000 exem-pted from the purview of the regulatory bodies, the parents association wants the panel to oversee all private unaided schools in the state capital.

Fee fixation will be done by the panel looking at expenditure, infrastructure, faculty, number of students and other factors.

Members of the Telangana Recognised School Managements Association had a tiff with senior officials over the non-inclusion of school managements in the government-appointed panel. The two major associations announced that they would not present their views until they were given representation.