The state has directed aided and partially aided secondary and higher secondary schools to refund excess fees collected from students after the government sanctioned grants.
The directive follows complaints received by the Education Department that some schools continued to charge fees above the prescribed amount despite receiving government grants. Letters to this effect have been sent to headmasters and principals of secondary and higher secondary schools in Pune, Solapur and Ahilyanagar districts. As the grant-in-aid increases, schools are required to correspondingly reduce the fees charged to students. However, complaints have continued to emerge that some institutions have failed to reduce fees despite receiving higher grant instalments. The department has now reiterated that schools must reduce fees in accordance with the percentage of government grant sanctioned to them. Schools found to have collected fees above the prescribed amount have been instructed to refund the excess to the concerned students without delay. They have also been asked to submit a detailed report to the Divisional Deputy Director of Education’s office, specifying the number of students affected, the total amount collected in excess and the amount refunded.
Taking note of the complaints, the office of the Divisional Deputy Director of Education on Saturday, September 19, instructed schools to refund the excess amount to affected students. Under government resolutions, unaided secondary schools and higher secondary institutions receive grants in stages, beginning with 20 per cent and subsequently increasing to 40 per cent, 60 per cent and 80 per cent.
The Divisional Deputy Director of Education’s office had previously instructed schools to implement the prescribed fee reductions.
