Government to bar private schools from charging ‘capitation fee’

The government has barred the private schools from charging capitation fee to students at the time of admission in kindergarten classes.

J&K School Education department is all set to implement Right to Education (RTE) Act in the Union territory.

   

Under the Act, the private schools will have to mandatorily keep 25 percent admission free for children belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

An official said the department was working rules will be issued soon for implementation of the Act that will bar the schools from charging capitation fee.

“The schools will have to charge only tuition fee from the students. Strict action will be taken against the school which will demand capitation fee,” said the official.

Over the years, the private schools have been charging huge money as capitation or donation from the parents. In January, School Fee Fixation Committee (SFFC) issued an order which barred private schools from charging donations from parents at the time of admission. However, there was no implementation of the orders by the private schools.

“Now, both the government and private schools have to follow the RTE Act,” the official said.

He said the government was also working out modalities to ensure 25 percent quota for children from the EWS in the private schools.

“The expenditure incurred by private schools on education of children from the EWS has to be reimbursed by the department,” said another official.

Parents planning to enroll their kids in kindergarten schools have urged the department to issue the guidelines to private schools before the start of academic session.

“If the guidelines are issued on time it will bar the private schools from resorting to illegal profiteering which they usually do at the time of admissions,” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a parent from Ram Bagh here. The admission process for kindergarten classes usually starts in September.

Director School Education Kashmir, Muhammad Younis Malik said the private schools will not be allowed to charge capitation fee from the upcoming academic session.

“The order will be implemented through RTE Act. The department is already working on it and rules will be notified very soon,” he said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 × four =