Maharashtra government has revived a key regulatory mechanism by reconstituting the long-inactive revision committee under the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011 in a bid to tighten oversight on private school fees.
Maharashtra Government Reactivates Committee For Private School to Cap Fees Hike
With this move, Maharashtra Govt is trying to restore an important appellate body that had remained largely non-functional in recent years, as per the media report.
This committee is chaired by the Retired judge MG Gaikwad of the Bombay High Court and the joint director of education, Pune, will serve as the ex-officio member-secretary.
This committee serves as the final appellate authority in disputes related to school fees which was constituted under Section 11 of the Act.
This means that the committee is empowered to summon records, review decisions taken by fee regulatory panels, and pass binding orders, including modifying or overturning fee structures, said the media report.
Besides this, the government has also reconstituted divisional fee regulatory committees (DFRCs) at the divisional level.
Moving ahead, these panels will be led by retired district judges MS Gupta in Mumbai, SS Gulhane in Pune, OP Jaiswal in Nagpur, and KR Devsarkar in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar reportedly.
In these committees, Deputy directors of education will act as ex-officio member-secretaries.
How Does It Work?
The schools that have not declared a long-term fee structure are permitted to increase fees by up to 15% over the previous year’s amount under the provisions of the Act.
Usually, such revisions are allowed once every two years. So far, any increase beyond this limit, or introduced earlier, requires approval from at least 76% of parents or must be justified as arising from unforeseen circumstances, reportedly.
The schools are allowed to collect either the previous year’s fees with an additional 15% or the proposed revised fee, whichever is lower, until a final decision is made by the authorities in case of disputes.
But, the parents have the right to raise complaints through the office of the deputy director of education at Charni Road, in case schools impose fee hikes that violate prescribed norms or due process, the media reported.
As per this law, the schools are required to present any proposed fee increase before the Parent-Teacher Association at least six months in advance.
“As these appointments mandate that it has to be a retired judge, we faced delays since recommendations must come from the district court and the high court,” said Sameer Sawant, the deputy secretary.
