RANCHI/JAMSHEDPUR: As per the latest amendment in the Jharkhand Education Tribunal Bill recently passed in the monsoon session of Jharkhand Assembly, all private schools in the state will now have to form fee regularisation committees. As per the amendment, in case the school fee committee agrees on more than a 10% hike, the district-level fee regularisation committee will have to approve the same.Ajay Rai, president, Jharkhand Parents' Association told TOI, "The amendment was a long awaited one. Now, the schools will have to include three parents in the fee regularisation committee led by the principal. There is a provision for a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh on first violation, repeating which might lead to the cancellation of the school's license.""This is a pioneering move towards the regularisation of fee structures in private schools across the state. All the fee change recommendations will now have to be sent to the district fee committee for approval in case it is greater than 10% in a given year," Rai added."We salute the chief minister for the wonderful work done in the interest of the parents. Private English schools needed to be regulated when it comes to annual fee hike and the government has done the appropriate thing," said Right to Education (RTE) activist, Umesh Kumar.He said with the amended act coming into force, schools will now have to mandatorily explain to the government the reasons for fee hikes.Another RTE activist Ankit Anand demanded that the state government needs to bring a similar law to prevent private schools from making excuses when it comes to taking admission of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) candidates under the RTE Act 2009.Manohar Lal, principal, Guru Nanak Higher Secondary School welcomed the amendment and said, "The regularisation of the fee committees at the school and district-level is a great move towards making the functioning of schools transparent. Even though fees are rarely increased by more than 10%, now the parents will have an equal say and representation in the process.""Had private schools been kind and considerate while deciding on the fee hike, there would not have been the need for this amendment," said Ajay Pathak, whose child studies in Class VIII in a reputed English school in Jamshedpur

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