The Jharkhand government will take action against private schools charging fees for readmission of students getting promoted to higher classes, education minister Ramdas Soren informed the assembly on Tuesday.
He said the government will also ensure regular meetings of district-level committees set up to look after the education sector, to curb alleged irregularities in private schools.
“If any complaint is lodged with the district-level committee regarding private schools charging fees for readmission, the government will certainly take action,” Soren said while replying to questions from BJP MLAs Pradip Prasad and Naveen Jaiswal about private schools imposing readmission fees.
BJP legislator Pradip Prasad also raised concerns about alleged irregularities in private schools, particularly regarding fee structure and exploitation of parents.
He demanded uniformity in the fee structure of private schools across Jharkhand.
Soren explained that every school has a management committee, which includes parents, teachers, and the school principal.
“The fees are decided by the committee. If there is any irregularity by the school committee, it is brought to the notice of the district-level committee, which is chaired by the deputy commissioner of the respective district,” he said.
The district committee has the authority to impose fines ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 2.5 lakh on schools if any irregularity is detected. Furthermore, if a school fails to comply with prescribed norms, its accreditation may also be revoked, the minister said.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi claimed that while a tribunal and district-level committees on education exist, their meetings are rarely held.
“The government should ensure that these meetings are conducted every month, particularly before the admission season. Additionally, the agenda for the meetings should be provided to all committee members, including people’s representatives, well in advance,” Marandi said.
The education minister accepted the leader of the opposition’s proposal.
“I assure you that the meetings of district-level committees will be held regularly, and members will be provided with the agenda a week before the meeting,” Soren said.
Prasad also demanded a law to address the irregularities in private schools, which was also supported by the speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato.
Soren responded by saying that if district committees recommend such a law, the government would consider it.
Congress MLA Pradip Yadav raised a question over “exploitation” by the labour supply agencies and asked the government if it intends to take action against such agencies.
In response, Soren said that if a complaint is raised, the government will take action against such agencies.
Later, two amendment bills, including Jharkhand Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which allows women to work night shifts, were passed in the assembly by voice vote.
