CBSE board sticks up for parents

Puts up circular on website asking schools to consult PTA before fee hike

CBSE board sticks up for parents

Puts up circular on website asking schools to consult PTA before fee hike

Parents of children studying in CBSE board schools can heave a sigh of relief. According to a circular put up by the board on their website, CBSE schools will not be allowed to collect capitation fee or donation at the time of admission. Also, unaided schools will have to consult parents' representatives before revising fees, the circular read.

Parents of children studying in various schools had gone on hunger strike and even resorted to begging to voice their vehement protest against schools hiking fees.

The circular mentioned that schools would not be allowed to sell uniforms, books and stationery on campus nor could they force parents to buy them. Fees should normally be charged under the heads prescribed by the department of education of the state or union territory for schools of different categories and the society or trust running the school should consult the school managing committee for review of fees or other annual charges, the circular said.

A list of other dos and don'ts has been mentioned on the circular for both aided and unaided schools affiliated to the board. An official from the board said for the time being circular had been uploaded on the board's website and soon send hard copies would be sent to the schools.

The initiative comes after the board realised that some institutions were making profits, the official said. MiD DAY made several attempts to contact the chairman Vineet Joshi to probe further on the kind of action that will be taken against schools refusing to follow the norms.

City schools said had not received the hard copy of the circular. They said it was not possible to follow all the rules listed in the circular. Milind Naik, principal of Dnyan Prabodhini School said the school had no issue following the rules once they get the official intimation. "If the board wants us to consult the PTA regarding fees structure we will, but the final call has to be taken by the trust. It finally depends on us if we want to follow the suggestions or not."

DAV school said that would not be possible to follow the instruction on selling of books and uniforms this year.

Jayshree Venkatraman, principal of DAV school said: "I have already got the books and other items and therefore have to sell it. Maybe from next year we will close shop. As far as fees are concerned, we have been consulting the parents' representative for sometime now."

Kiran Jadhav, vice principal of Vikhe Patil Memorial School, said his school always made it a point to consult PTA regarding school matters. "We provide books and uniforms to parents but that's to help them and parents have the option to buy from outside if they wish."