Hyderabad news: Waiting for school fee panel continues

Hyderabad: The countdown to reopening of schools has begun, but parents are unlikely to get any relief from the exorbitant fee hikes being done by private school managements in the state. And their wait for fee regulation will get longer, as the Congress government is yet to approve the fee regulation committee, which the party has assured in its manifesto for the state assembly elections. With the demand for fee regulation gaining momentum, the education department has recently proposed a school fee regulatory committee and the department is expected to get approval from the state government. Upon getting approval from the Chief Minister’s Office, the proposal will be sent to the Cabinet subcommittee headed by IT Minister D Sridhar Babu. Based on the recommendations of the subcommittee, a bill will be drafted and introduced in the next state assembly session.

Even if the Congress government comes up with the School Fee Regulatory Act, it will be implemented only from the next academic year i.e. 2025-26, as most private schools have already increased fees between 20-30 per cent for this year, besides completing the admission process for the upcoming academic year. The school fee regulatory committee is expected to be on the lines of the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee, which fixes fee structure for private colleges offering professional programmes, including engineering, medicine and pharmacy, once for every three-year block period. Fees of professional colleges are revised based on income and expenditure receipts, audited balance sheets, requirements for developmental needs, among other details.