RTI

Dadar

Tulaskar

The school denied his claims saying that the capitation act had nothing to do with the fees of educational institutions

State Government

The Education depart ment's reply to anapplication, filed by a parent of aschool student, may have just set the ball rolling for parents battling the fee hike issue across the city.Prasad Tulaskar, whose son is a student of Indian Education Society's Modern English School in Dadar, had filed an RTI application with the Office of the Deputy Director of Education, asking if the school had the mandatory permission from the government to hike fees. According to the reply he received on June 20, the government did not give permission to the school to increase fees from 2011-2015. “Neither this office, nor any of the committees set up by the government has given permission to IES Modern English school, Dadar, to increase fees for the academic years 2011-12, 201213, 2013-14, 2014-15,“ BB Chavan, Deputy Director of Education, Mumbai, has said in his reply to's RTI query.The Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011, was implemented in the state from December 2014. Before that, provisions of the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act 1987 governed the issue of fees in educational institutions.Clause 4 (4) of the 1987 Act states: “The fees regulated under the section shall ordinarily remain in force for a period of three years and theshall appoint a Committee of persons who, in the opinion of the State Government, are experts in educational field, for taking the review of the fee structure and may, after con sidering the report of the Committee, revise the fees if it considers it expedient to do so.“Taking recourse in this law and supported by the government's reply, Tulaskar has asked the school for a refund of fees from 2011to 2015. He said the annual tuition fees for the years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 were Rs.11,040, Rs. 12,600, Rs. 15,000, Rs.18,000 and Rs. 20,400 respectively.“The school has been increasing fees every year in violation of the three-year rule and without having due permissions from the government,“ he pointed out.The school denied his claims saying that the capitation act had nothing to do with the fees of educational institutions. “There was no fee hike issue from 2011-2015. Parents are unnecessarily raising these matters. Government permission is required only when the PTA does not approve of a fee hike, whereas we have the PTA approval,“ said Satish Lotlikar, trustee, IES Modern English School. However, Tulaskar pointed out that PTA approval is a requirement of the new Fee Act, whereas capitation fee act required government's nod.Chavan did not respond to Mirror's phone calls.Aset of parents including Tulaskar, had last year complained to the Education department against fee hikes at the school in the last two years. In March, the Bombay High Court allowed the school to increase student fees by Rs 300 per month for the year 2017-2018, until a final hearing in the case which will be on July 6.Emboldened by Tulaskar's efforts, other parents are also now approaching schools with similar demands.Ravindra Kalambekar, parent of a student at St. Joseph High school, New Panvel, and a member of EPTA (a PTA body that approves fee hike), said, “I am also asking for a refund from 2007 as this school also increased fees by 15 per cent every year prior to 2014. I have put an RTI query to ask if the school had government permission. Nearly a hundred parents are planning to ask for refunds.“Kalambekar said this year the EPTA ruled that the school should charge Rs 1000 per month as tuition fee, but school did not accept it.