NCPCR recommends 10-pc yearly cap on fee hike in private, unaided schools

The NCPCR has recommended to the HRD Ministry to put a 10-per cent yearly cap on fee hike in private, unaided schools, an official with the child rights body said today.

Priyank Kanungo, a member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said the body came up with a framework of recommendations after they received reports that children were being harassed by school administrations and that they considered committing suicide over the fee hike issue.

"We have made the recommendations to the HRD Ministry and has proposed the setting up of a district fee regulatory authority in states to monitor school fee increases," he said.

Kanungo said they have been receiving numerous complaints of mental and emotional harassment of children due to fee-related disputes between parents and school administrations, following which the body has come up with a model fee regulatory framework for unaided private schools.

The framework is for private unaided schools - which are 23 per cent of the total schools in India and cater to 36 per cent of the total population of children attending school.

The framework is a model document that may be recommended to states where the fee regulation mechanism does not work effectively.

According to the draft regulations, if a school violates the norms provided in the uniform fee framework, the respective government can bar the school from taking new admissions for the next academic year or impose fine equivalent to 10 per cent of the total revenue generated by the school or society or trust in the preceding year.