Hyderabad: Delhi Public School Mahendra Hills, Secunderabad, have reduced more than 50 per cent of their school fee for the academic year 2018-19 following strong opposition from parents and others.
Significantly, an investigation is underway by the National Commission for protection of Child Rights against the exorbitant fees they were charging.
In December 2017, the commission had asked the district education officer (DEO) to investigate the issue and submit a report about the fee structure. The school had submitted the report of the fee structure in June to the DEO. But before the investigation was completed, the school brought down the fee.
Speaking to this newspaper, Vijay Gopal, who filed the petition said, “As per the Government order, no private school should collect any special/other activities fee from any student expect the tuition fee. But the Delhi Public School, Mahendra Hills, was collecting the tuition fee along with fee for activities which are optional for the students according to the Government order.” A case was booked in Nacharam police station two years ago about the exorbitant fee being collected by the school and other private schools from the parents of the school children.
Vijay Gopal added, “The DEO found the schools were guilty of violating the rules in charging the fees. The commission asked the schools to explain about the rule violations in fee structure but the school management reframed the fee structure and requested that the case be dropped.”
Executive member of Hyderabad School Parents Association N. Ashish said, “Not only this school, every private school who is charging exorbitant fees should reduce the fees. The government is not doing much here. There are some schools which charge Rs 6 lakh. Each and every school should be audited whether they are charging more.”
