The State Government feels that the exorbitant fee charged by the private schools in Madhya Pradesh is justified as they are providing facilities to the students. Acting on a PIl filed in the High Court recently, the State Government was planning to constitute fee regulation committee for private schools, but later, declined by submitting an affidavit in the High Court that no regulatory committee or guideline would be constituted.
While talking to The Pioneer, Minister of State for Education Deepak Joshi said, “We are thinking in this direction, but suddenly we cannot impose restrictions on the private schools, as it is a complex issue. They provide overall facilities to the students and therefore, the expenses charged by them are justified to some extent. The Government does not want to disturb the level of education but yes, we will be thinking in this direction what best possible can be done.”
He feels that regulating fee in private schools would adversely affect the quality of education. He informed that till date there has been no such rule or policy to control fee in private schools. In 1975, an Act though came to monitor the fees in private school, but it was not properly implemented. Thereafter, when the BJP Government came to power, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his deep concern towards the declining quality of education in the State.
“We are thinking in this direction for which we have to consider several aspects of private schools like student teacher ratio, infrastructural facilities, and level of education. Hereafter we would decide in the matter of regularising fee and initiate steps to implement it from next session,” he added.
Regarding bullying attitude of private school management forcing parents to buy books or uniforms from particular shops, Joshi told that he has asked the Collectors to imposed section 144 of the CrPC restricting the schools to do so. Indore, Dhar, Devas are the districts where collectors have taken the matter seriously and thereafter in all the districts, the prohibitory orders have been imposed. Following this, there is reduction in such complaints, he added.