Schools warn of legal action if government insists on 'low' fees

Schools under the Associated Managements of (Government Recognised Unaided English Medium) Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) plan to take legal action if the State government insists that unaided institutions charge the fees fixed by it.

A unanimous decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the member schools of the association here on Monday. Schools argue that the fees fixed by a fee-fixation committee are “too low”. The committee didn’t consult them either, they maintain.

The committee was formed by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) after the High Court gave an order in March last year on a petition by some schools which sought to increase their fees. The committee consisted of 14 members: all retired officials. A sub-committee was also formed later.

Besides criticising the “low fees”, schools pointed out that they could not follow the safety guidelines ordered by the government unless they charged sufficient fees. According to the KAMS, most of the schools associated with it are “budget institutions”.

At the meeting, schools also discussed what they said was the government’s “inability” to properly reimburse them for RTE admissions across the State. “RTE implementation is in a state of mess. In districts such as Ballari and Gadag, schools are getting as low as Rs 2,000-3000,” said D Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the association.

If such a situation persists, he warned, schools will no longer be able to give admissions to students under the RTE quota.