'Recognition of school will be cancelled if academic fee is hiked': T govt

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has warned schools not to hike fees for the academic year 2020-21, a GO released by the State government said on Tuesday. The decision was taken in view of the hardships faced due to lockdown owing to COVID-19. A resolution to this effect was passed on April 21^st.

The schools have also been instructed to collect only tuition fees on monthly basis till further orders. The decision was conveyed to all private, unaided, unrecognized schools of the State board, CBSE, ICSE and other international schools.

The schools have been warned any failure to adhere to the orders will be dealt with under relevant acts/rules. The commissioner of school education has been instructed to take necessary action in this regard.

The official order by the Telangana government reads, "Non-compliance of the above instructions will result in cancellation of school recognition, revoking the no objection certificate already granted for affiliation to other boards and initiation of appropriate action against school management under relevant acts/rules".

The decision has come as a great reprieve to the parents of wards in the State who have been raising their voice for years. Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) has voiced its opposition to fee hikes several times. The parents of the students have been airing their concerns on fee hikes and how schools are goading them to pay late fee for failing to pay them before deadline. The State education department has been receiving complaints from HSPA in this regard from parents for help.

Venkat Sainath, member of the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) told Newsmeter, "We welcome the move by the government. The order will help parents who are in dire straits due to COVID-19. The order is clear and is rightly addressed to all affiliated boards.”

“I am pleased the government has finally woken up to the situation. It was deaf, dumb and remained a mute spectator to the issues plaguing education in private sector. Though more than half of the students study in these schools the government has not taken any active policy decision since 2014. I am glad the government is reactive now, we wish it was proactive in protecting the interests of all stake holders and ensured education for all. I like the proposal to allow payment of fees on monthly basis. It will reduce lot of burden on several parents who earlier paid the fee in three terms in the academic year.” said Pavan Reddy, member of HSPA.