A day after a 17-year-old Class 12 student in Amritsar allegedly died after consuming a poisonous substance due to fear of school fee, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced that private schools’ control over fee hikes in Punjab will soon end.
Mann has announced thar from now onwards, private schools will only be allowed to increase their annual fee by 5 per cent annually. Additionally, Mann also announced that if any school does hike fee beyond 15 per cent over a period of three years, then the amount will have to be refunded back to parents.
“From now on, no private school in Punjab will be allowed to increase its fees by more than 5% annually. In addition, schools that have increased their fees by more than 15% over the past three years will be required to immediately refund the excess amount collected from parents,” he stated.
Mann has reiterated that if any school is found to be in violation of the new rules, then the authorities will have to face penalties and the school’s registration will also be cancelled. To ensure that all stakeholders abide by the new school fee rules, the Punjab government is also planning to bring in a new law to regulate fee hikes. “To ensure the effective implementation of this decision, we will soon bring in an ordinance. The 5% cap will not apply only to tuition fees; it will also cover all other mandatory charges and funds collected by schools,” Mann stated.
Mann alleged that Captain Amarinder Singh’s government had given private schools a free hand to raise fees, but that will end now.
His new rules come a little after a 17-year-old girl allegedly died after consuming a poisonous substance. Her family accused school authorities of subjecting her to continuous mental harassment over pending fees of around Rs 20,000. The deceased was staying with her maternal aunt while pursuing her studies. According to family members, she took the extreme step after allegedly facing repeated pressure from school authorities over unpaid fees.
Before her death, the girl recorded a video from her hospital bed in which she made serious allegations against the school management. She claimed that she had been subjected to severe mental harassment over the issue of school fees and was deeply distressed by the treatment she received.
Mann said the class 12 student became a victim of the ‘school mafia’. “We will not allow schools to act arbitrarily, we will not let parents’ dreams die,” CM Mann stated.
