Mumbai school ordered to refund fees

Sister Lovena, the principal of St Joseph's High School, Agripada received a warning letter from the South Zone education department, ordering the school to stop demanding money above the school fees, last Wednesday. Failing so, she is likely to lose her post. This comes after MiD DAY reported about the school refusing to give report cards to students who had not paid the ‘extra' fee on April 8.

The story was published in Mid Day on April 8

Warning after warning
In March, the BMC had already issued a notice to stop the practice. After MiD DAY's report, another warning was issued on April 10. According to the letter, the education inspector, who visited the school, has confirmed the practice of collecting extra fees from the students.

Surprisingly, this is not a one off incident. The school had received a similar warning during the academic year 2011-2012. At that time, the school had been ordered to refund the amount to the parents, which the school failed to execute. According to the recent report, the school has collected Rs 40,06,800 from parents between 2011 till 2013. "Yes, we have sent a notice to St Joseph's High School regarding the illegal collection of extra fees," an official from the education department, South Zone confirmed.

Extra fees
Apart from the mandatory fee, the Agripada-based school charges these additional fees:
Child development fee: Rs 1,500
Annual computer fee: Rs 600
For notebooks: Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,500
For files: Rs 200
Funfair charges per student: Rs 400u00a0