Public interest litigation demands parents’ say in fee regulation process

AHMEDABAD: A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Gujarat high court on Tuesday, seeking directions to the state government to give students’ parents a representation in the process of fixing fees for private schools.
The PIL has been filed by a Vadodara-based senior citizen, Praful Desai, of Jagte Raho Party. The HC is likely to hear the petition on Wednesday.The petitioner has contended that while the state government has come up with a law and is making rules to regulate fees of private schools, there is no space for parents in the process. Member of parents’ associations should also have a place in the fee regulatory committee, Desai says.
Desai says in his petition that there has been a systematic loot of people by some schools. He says the education standards in the country was low, yet schools were charging high fees. He says parents’ associations should be allowed to participate in school management by giving them powers to manage finances to an extent. He says the participation could be in matters such as selecting a chartered accountant for a school.
Desai has also contended that it will be difficult to standardize fee structures, as infrastructure and facilities vary in schools. He says the government cannot fix fee structures without taking other aspects such as inflation into account.