After witnessing public outrage over frequent increase in fees and other charges by private schools in Himachal Pradesh, the has finalised the draft for bringing in a legislation to regulate the fee structure in these schools. After Delhi, Himachal will be the second state in North to introduce such a legislation.
A high-level committee, headed by the Education Minister, has already submitted its report to the government, which will now be presented before the state Cabinet for its approval so that a necessary law is enacted in the monsoon session of the state Assembly next month.
The draft of Himachal Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fee and Other Related Matters) Bill, 2021, has already been uploaded on the website of the state Education Department for seeking suggestions and objections from public.
According to the draft Bill, the private schools shall determine their fee structure based on their operational expenses, augmentation of facilities, expansion of Infrastructure and facilities provided to students in order to generate reasonable surplus to be utilised for the development of education.
The draft Bill proposes that private schools shall upload the statements of fees on their websites 60 days prior to the commencement of each academic year
No school shall enhance the fee by more than six per cent in an academic session. Besides, students shall be at Liberty to purchase books, bags and uniform etc from the open market.