Jabalpur: Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district have directed ten private schools to return nearly Rs 65 crore taken in excess as tuition fees from over 81,000 students over seven academic sessions, an official said on Thursday.
Jabalpur District Education Officer (DEO) Ghanshyam Soni said, schools have increased tuition fees in violation of the law.
He said that the district level committee constituted under the Madhya Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fees and Allied Matters) Act, 2017, examined the accounts of these schools and found that they were charging extra fees from the students.
He said the authorities have quashed the illegal increase in fees by these schools and recovery of Rs 64.58 crore from 81,117 students between 2018-19 and 2024-25.
Soni said that he has issued a notice to the schools on Tuesday directing them to return the fees collected illegally.
On May 27, the Jabalpur district administration had filed 11 FIRs against school officials and some book shop owners for allegedly illegally increasing fees and textbook prices, officials said.
According to District Collector Deepak Saxena, action was taken against school officials and textbook shop owners after discrepancies related to them came to light.
According to the rules, if a school intends to increase fees by more than 10 percent, it will have to take the approval of the district administration. If the proposed hike is more than 15 per cent, the school will have to seek approval from a committee constituted by the state government, an official said.
The Collector said some of these schools increased fees by more than 10 per cent without approval from the appropriate authorities, while others increased them by more than 15 per cent.
Jabalpur District Education Officer (DEO) Ghanshyam Soni said, schools have increased tuition fees in violation of the law.
He said that the district level committee constituted under the Madhya Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fees and Allied Matters) Act, 2017, examined the accounts of these schools and found that they were charging extra fees from the students.
He said the authorities have quashed the illegal increase in fees by these schools and recovery of Rs 64.58 crore from 81,117 students between 2018-19 and 2024-25.
Soni said that he has issued a notice to the schools on Tuesday directing them to return the fees collected illegally.
On May 27, the Jabalpur district administration had filed 11 FIRs against school officials and some book shop owners for allegedly illegally increasing fees and textbook prices, officials said.
According to District Collector Deepak Saxena, action was taken against school officials and textbook shop owners after discrepancies related to them came to light.
According to the rules, if a school intends to increase fees by more than 10 percent, it will have to take the approval of the district administration. If the proposed hike is more than 15 per cent, the school will have to seek approval from a committee constituted by the state government, an official said.
The Collector said some of these schools increased fees by more than 10 per cent without approval from the appropriate authorities, while others increased them by more than 15 per cent.