Telangana vows to bring down school fees

Hyderabad: The Telangana government will take action against exorbitant fees being collected by private schools from this academic year, said deputy Chief Minister and education minister Kadiam Srihari on Tuesday. “We will come out with a new policy,”  he said in the Legislative Council. Mr Srihari added that the government would also bring in reforms to ensure basic amenities, staff and infrastructure in government educational institutions.

“Vote bank politics was the root cause behind successive governments neglecting education. Focus has always been to win votes with all kinds of promises, but no attention was given to education,” he said.

The deputy Chief Minister was however non-committal about bringing in legislation to the check high fees in private institutions and installing biometric attendance for teachers and staff as sought by MIM MLC Syed Altaf Hyder Razvi, Leader of Opposition Mohd Ali Shabbir, Congress MLC P. Sudhakar Reddy and others.

“Though parents’ associations have raised the issue, no action has been taken. Government should regulate fee structures in corporate schools,” he said. The MIM MLC added that parents were opting for private schools and colleges due to lack of basic amenities in government institutions in the state.