Mumbai Division Board warns schools/institutions against overcharging exams fees from private students

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Divisional Board has issued a circular to schools threatening action against those who charge four to five times the normal fees, fixed by the board, from private candidates, who appear for SSC and HSC exams. The Board have received a number of complaints from the parents and students about over charging by schools in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad.
Since the board has started receiving applications forms from private candidates, complaints of overcharging of fees have been recorded by officials of the Mumbai divisional board.
“We have received around 15 complaints from the parents and from the students associations stating that the school or collages, where the students are applying for the forms, are demanding four to five times more than the regular fees . However, the complainants were unable to provide proper proof against particular institutions, which are over charging fees,” said SY Chandekar, secretary of the Mumbai Division of Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).
"Therefore we could not initiate action against the particular institute. However, it was necessary to curb these illegal acts carried out by institutes in the city. Hence, a circular has been sent to all the institutes as the warning, that if it is found that they are overcharging, then strict action will be pursued against them," Chandekar added.
The official also appealed to students to take the proper fee receipts from schools or collages, as it can be provided as proof for action against the particular institute. Besides, the application forms, details such as the fees have been mentioned including the amount of fees, which is Rs. 1000 for SSC and Rs. 500 for HSC. The complainants have alleged that the institutes are charging between Rs 5000 and 6000 by some of these institutions.
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As per the board, till date around 20,000 private candidates have applied to appear for the SSC exams, while around 19,000 students have applied to appear for HSC exams, in 2017.