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A fee hike without an inspection

THE tuition fee hike imbroglio continues to occupy centre-stage in school academic circles and with parents. This time around, peeved parents of students from three private schools were shocked to learn from a Ministry of Education official that the approval for fee hike was given to the managements without the Ministry even making a cursory inspection of the school to study the conditions.

The official informed the harried parents that shortage of inspection staff had prevented them from carrying out inspection of all the schools which had applied for fee revision. Not surprisingly, the three schools, which had raised the tuition fee only last year, had not made any new additions either in terms of activity or improvement in infrastructure, for them to justify a second fee hike. In any case, they were not eligible to increase the fees since regulations stipulate that a hike can't be effected for three years from the last increase.

How then, did the Ministry grant permission for a fee hike when they could not carry inspection for want of inspection staff? Since it is mandatory for the Ministry to conduct inspection before approving fee hike, the proposal from the management of the three schools could have been deferred, and a decision taken as and when the inspections are completed. The Ministry cannot absolve itself of the lapse, not even on grounds of shortage of staff.