Bengaluru: Private schools told to publish fee structure

Bengaluru: The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has directed all unaided private schools of Central government affiliation in the state to upload details of their fee structure it has decided to collect from students for the academic year 2020-21, on to the DPI portal, by December 31 every year from this year.

In a gazette notification dated July 24, 2019 issued by Secretariat of State Education, the private unaided schools must also publish other necessary information on to the portal for the coming academic year.

Officials in DPI told this paper that schools irrespective of their affiliation including Central Board Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School School Certificate Examination (CISCE -ICSE) schools must also upload the

fee details of coming academic year on to DPI website sts.karnataka.gov.in.

Private schools must also upload their annual certified audit reports related to the previous academic year ending March 31, annual examination results, and details of teaching staff, according to the notification. Schools have been instructed to display details of fee structure on the school notice board for parents and in the public domain under Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS).

Officials of the department said all details of fee structure of private schools will be on display on the portal.

Private schools are not allowed to hike their fees by more than 15% over the previous academic year. The department has also decided to penalize schools up to Rs 10 lakh if they do not comply with the fee structure laid down.

Parents can log on to DPI portal to access details of fee structure of their children’s schools, academic achievements of the respective schools, the official said.   

 Parents and academicians are elated over the notification as it has fulfilled one of their long pending demand to bring transparency in private school fee structure. Many  parents want the DPI to go after the unaided schools in ensuring that they comply on guidelines on fee structure strictly.

Though the management of private schools have welcomed the move, General Secretary of Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools D Shashikumar has asked the DPI to resolve the RTE fees reimbursement among other issues.