Bhopal: Education department on Friday dropped a bombshell of sorts for parents association informing it about a new formula for fixing school fee structure for private (unaided) schools in the state. The department said a grade' system, from grade-1 to grade-5 would be put in place and it will form basis of fee structure in schools.But most parents bristled at the idea saying that the government failed to settle the issue despite meetings with stakeholders for two days from Thursday.A meeting between state education minister Vijay Shah and parents on Friday was held in which parents were informed about the new "way out" the government apparently found to regulate the fee. The Friday meeting again remained inconclusive, leaving parents agitated over the matter."We were told our demand for fee regulation of private schools would be accepted after a grading system was put in place. The government is now mulling to grade schools in five categories and put top schools in grade-1 category," said Parents Association secretary Prabod Pandaya.Taking a strong exception to the minister's statement, parents said grading schools would create a sense of discrimination and wrong perception among children."The government is trying to hide failure behind its vague statements. It would be difficult to explain to kids discriminatory decision of grading schools. When children will ask us difference between grade 1 and grade 5 school and once the difference is explained to them, it will breed inferiority complex among our children. We will not let it happen at any cost," parents told TOI.The association is fighting a legal battle in the high court for past many years. Ironically, despite the court directives to the education department to bring in a new fee regulatory law, the government failed to take action in this regard, parents said.Sources privy to the meeting told TOI contrary to what schools and parents are interpreting, the government is presently playing 'happy-go-lucky' card with schools and parents, who hold divergent views on the issue."It is strange that the government, on the one hand, assured private schools to accept their demands. On the other hand, the government told parents private schools won't be allowed to commercialise institutes. Private schools and parents are being taken for a ride by false assurances," sources said.On Thursday, the minister told private schools their fee could be hiked up to 15% and for schools which fall under top school category, 40% hike can be allowed, sources said.Ironically, in a separate meeting with parents, the minister told parents that no school can hike fee beyond 10%.Speaking to TOI, principal secretary school education Deepti Gaur Mukherji refused to comment on the issue and said, "This is his personal view, I can't comment on it. There is nothing we have decided yet, so we should better wait," she said.After meeting parents, Shah told reporters about the grade system and vowed to take stringent action against 'commercialisation' of schools. He said that grading schools is one of the ways to control fee of private schools that government is looking for."I will not allow private schools to become money minting factories and industries. Let us see, weather the idea of grading school would work or not," he told reporters.

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