Jharkhand government to take action against private schools charging readmission fee: Minister

RANCHI: The Jharkhand government on Tuesday informed the assembly that it will take action against private schools that charge fees under the pretext of readmission. Education Minister Ramdas Soren also said that the government would ensure regular meetings of district-level committees set up to look after education, to curb alleged irregularities in private schools.

"If any complaint is lodged with the district-level committee regarding private schools charging fees in the name of readmission, the government will certainly take action," Soren said while replying to a question 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 structures and the exploitation of parents. He demanded uniformity in the fee structures 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 any irregularity is committed by the school committee, it is brought to the district-level committee, which is chaired by the deputy commissioners of the respective districts," 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. The Leader of Opposition, Babulal Marandi, claimed that while tribunal and district-level committees on education exist, their meetings are rarely held.

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"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 of 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.