Mita Mukherjee
The state government will table a bill to regulate private schools and control an inclination among a section of such schools to hike fees ignoring the financial condition of parents, Bengal education minister said in the state Assembly on Tuesday. He said this responding to a question on fee hike by a BJP MLA in the house.
The bill will also aim to look into various problems faced by students for inadequate infrastructure and corporal punishments, the minister said.
He said the state government had taken a similar attempt to control private hospitals by setting up a commission to look into complaints of exorbitant bills and inadequate facilities provided to patients.
“We cannot deny the high standard education imparted by private schools.But we have received complaints about the high fees charged by such schools. We want to place a bill to address the problem ,” the minister said in the House.
A draft bill has been prepared and it is being examined by chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. The bill will be finalised in consultation with the chief minister.
He said sudden fee hike decisions by private schools create financial problem by middle-class parents. ” Most middle- class parents allocate a certain amount of funds every month for their children’s education. It creates a serious problem for them when they suddenly get a notice announcing a steep fee hike. The bill aims to look into these financial issues as well as other problems regarding inadequate and poor infrastructure facilities.”
Three students were injured in a private school in Kolkata when a piece of glass fell on them in January this year. The minister said the bill aims to ensure the schools provided proper infrastructure facilities on par with the fees charged from students.
He, however, reiterated the excellence maintained in most private schools. He admitted students from the ICSE and CBSE curriculum which most private schools in Bengal follow, did well in future. He said there is a need to establish a parity between the state-aided and private schools.
The minister, however did not clarify what would be the status of private schools run by minorities which enjoy the freedom to follow their own academic, administrative and financial policies.
Non-minority private schools welcomed the state government’ plan to rein in schools that provide poor facilities despite charging exorbitant fees. But they urged the government to ensure not to put all schools in one bracket as there are many schools that provide high standard education and facilities.
However, this is not the first time, the government has expressed its plan to rein in private schools. In 2023 the state cabinet approved the West Bengal Private Schools Regulatory Bill, 2022, which seeks to set up a Commission that would determine the fees charged by private schools and hear complaints against them. Calcutta High Court in the same year had directed the state government to frame rules to regulate steep hikes in private schools.
