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Govt plans to regulate pvt schools’ fee structures: HP education min
MLA Chaudhary from Doon assembly raised concerns over the increasing commercialisation of education and the practice of charging re-admission fees annually under the pretext of annual charges in the schools.
In response, the minister said under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, private schools are mandated to reserve 25 per cent seats for students belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.
Himachal Pradesh Education Minister Rohit Thakur Friday said the state government is considering amending the existing rules to regulate fee structures in private schools and to prevent exploitation of parents.
Thakur was responding to a question by Congress MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary during Question Hour.
The minister said the current legislation does not have any provision to fix fees in private schools. The states such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have already amended their laws to regulate private school fee structures, he said.
MLA Chaudhary from Doon assembly raised concerns over the increasing commercialisation of education and the practice of charging re-admission fees annually under the pretext of annual charges in the schools.
In response, the minister said under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, private schools are mandated to reserve 25 per cent seats for students belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.
He also admitted that the provision is not being fully implemented but said the department is making efforts in this direction. “If given priority, the number of children from the BPL families in private schools has already doubled,” he said, adding that the government will take further action in the future.
The Doon MLA also asked whether the government would direct private schools to display on their notice boards the seats reserved for BPL students. In reply, the minister said the department would certainly take steps to ensure greater awareness and increased enrolment of such students so that the BPL families can benefit.
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Responding to another Congress MLA Hardeep Singh Bawa’s question, the education minister said improving infrastructure in colleges with adequate student strength and across all streams remains a top priority, and the government is allocating funds accordingly.
The minister informed that around 70 per cent construction work of the Government College at Ramshehar was completed, and an additional Rs 6.62 crore will be required to complete the remaining work. He said the Chief Minister has made a budget provision of Rs 500 crore for projects nearing 70 per cent completion.
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