The Department of Education has recently directed three District Education Offices in Kathmandu Valley to take action against private schools that have been fleecing parents by not following the private schools’ fee fixation directives.Two months ago, the monitoring team led by joint-secretaries from the Education Ministry had visited 18 private schools in the Valley.

Almost all schools were found to be charging fees that exceeded the ceiling set by the Central Fee Fixation and Monitoring Committee. Thus, on the recommendation of committee, DoE had directed respective districts to take action against them.

The high-level monitoring team had monitored private schools after pressures from student unions and complaints from guardians that private schools were disobeying government rules and regulations.

Brihaspati Vidya Sadan, Galaxy Public School, Occidental Public School, Triyog Higher Secondary School, Siddhartha Banasthali School, among others from Kathmandu, Rato Bangala School, Ideal Model School, DAV Sushil Kedia Vishwo Bharati School, Shuvatara School, GEMS, Little Angels’ Schools, among others from Lalitpur and Matribhumi School, among others from Bhaktapur were found to be flouting government fixed fee directives.

Narayan Kaji Kashichhawa, chief of Private School Management Section, DEO-Kathmandu today said they have already sent circulars to the schools to furnish reasons for hiking the fee without government approval.

He said, “We have asked for clarification with a penalty of Rs 1,000 from schools that have submitted the fee proposal late, while schools that charged hiked school fees without government approval have been directed to pay Rs 25,000 penalty with clarification.”

source:the himalayan times,26 july 2016