MANGALURU: A new forum- Shikshana Rakshana Vedike- was formed on Saturday to look into donation and fee manipulation in private schools.

Vedike convener P Lolaksha said the forum will function as an apolitical body without any religious or caste bias for the effective implementation of Right to Education (RTE) Act and elimination of donation and excess fee in schools.

"The primary objective of the forum is to fight for the implementation of RTE guidelines and to check the menace of donation and excess fees in private schools. As a preliminary round of inquiry, a group of 15 activists conducted visits to three prominent private schools in the city. The findings were shocking, as most of the rules and regulations mentioned in the RTE Act and circulars (dated January 24 and February 28) from the education department have been violated," Lolaksha said, adding that the vedike will meet deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim, head of Dakshina Kannada District Level Education Regulating Authority, on Monday.

"Mohammed Mohsin, commissioner, department of public instruction, has directed all deputy directors and block education officers across the state to be vigilant to check excessive collection of tuition fees during the admission. As per the circular, private schools should display the number of seats available, fee structure, and other information on a flex board. However, we could not find any such boards in the schools we visited. The department has issued a calendar of events starting from the publishing list of available seats to final admission. However, it has not been followed in schools," he said, adding that such findings of the vedike will be brought to the notice of the DC.

As per the circular, private schools should announce the available seats on March 10; application forms should be distributed from March 15 and the last date for submission should be April 30. Final admission list will have to be published by private schools on May 25, he said.

Another member Renni D'Souza said the circular prevents schools from collecting fees from children belong to scheduled castes and tribes. "The case study we have gone through suggests that private schools do not adhere to rules and collect fees even from students from SC/ST communities," he added.

"There are provisions under the RTE Act to penalize schools that violate rules with penalty to the tune of Rs 25,000 and also for recommendation of withdrawal of recognition. The district-level regulation authority should take initiatives to implement the circulars aboout school admission," he said.

Activist Zohra Nisar Ahmed said collection of excessive fees and donations by schools leads to corruption in the department and in the society. Lolaksha said that the vedike will meet periodically to review the situation and continue its activities to ensure fair admission process in PU, degree and other courses.