Vadodara fee regulation committee order: Four schools told to refund surplus fees taken from students

Poddar world school has been directed to refund Rs 2.23 lakh charged from students, while Poddar International School has been found guilty of charging Rs 27 lakh as surplus fees during the year.

The order explains that the school had submitted the figures of the class-wide fee structure for the academic year 2017-18 after the implementation of the Gujarat Fee Regulation Act in 2017 and thereafter cited an annual raise of five per cent to the fee structure in 2018-19 as well as another five per cent in the consecutive year of 2019-20, in which the petition has been filed. However, the schools charged fees in excess of the stipulated raise.

The DPS schools have been directed to refund Rs 80 lakh of surplus fees charged in the last academic year.

The FRC also slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Poddar International School to be paid within 30 days of the order issued on January 29, while Poddar World School has been fined Rs 2 lakh.

Advocate Kishore Pillai of Vadodara Parents’ Association said, “The orders are in favour of the parents. Our petitions were for the year 2019-20 as well as the ongoing academic year. While Poddar schools charged excess fees, Delhi Public Schools charged late fees amounting to Rs 7,000 per student for two terms. They had already discussed and agreed to charge the sum only for one of the two terms, but now with the current order of the FRC, they will have to refund the entire amount. All four schools have conveyed that they will appeal against the order.”

This is the third such order against private schools violating conditions of the Gujarat Fee Regulation Act of 2017.