COVID-19: Haryana govt prohibits private schools from hiking fee, check details here

The Haryana government on April 23, announced that private schools in the state cannot charge parents anything other than the tuition fee until the lockdown is over.

The Haryana government on April 23, announced that private schools in the state cannot charge parents anything other than the tuition fee until the lockdown is over. The government also prohibited private schools from hiking the tuition fees or introducing hidden charges in the fee, and asked the schools to collect the tuition fee on a monthly basis.

A letter shared by the stated education department with the district education officers stated, “Private schools should only collect monthly tuition fees. Payment of other funds such as building fund, maintenance fund, entrance fee, computer fee among other additional heads should be deferred in light of the unprecedented situation due to COVID-19.” The department also asked schools not to make any changes in uniforms and books.

According to the government's order, schools cannot take any punitive action against students for non-payment of fees. The Haryana education department stated, “Schools should abide by the rules and ensure that no student’s name is struck off the roll or students are deprived of online classes due to non-payment of fee." The government also stated that parents could share their grievances as per Rule 158-A of Haryana School Education Rules, 2003, if schools were found not complying with the directive.

Earlier, the Government on Haryana instructed all the private schools not to collect fees from students until the coronavirus lockdown period is over. According to the reports, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar stated that the schools must not pressurize the parents of the students to deposit fees as this lockdown is the zero period.

Addressing the private academic institutions, in a recent tweet, the Chief Minister of Haryana stated that the government of Haryana instructed all private schools located in the state not to pressurize the parents of the students to deposit fees in view of the lockdown, fees should be taken only when the situation is normal. At present, all types of fees are banned with immediate effect.

Making sure that the schools follow the given instruction, Haryana School Education Department gave the responsibility to all the Haryana District Education Officers and District Primary Education Officers of making the private schools aware of the directions of the state government.

All the academic institutions in Haryana are shut and examinations are canceled due to lockdown announced by PM Modi on April 14. The nationwide lockdown will go on until May 3. Meanwhile, considering the health and safety of the students and teachers, the Haryana government promoted all the students of class 1 to 8. 

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