Following complaints from guardians against private and boarding schools overcharging for admission forms for the new academic session, the Department of Education (DoE) on Wednesday warned the schools to follow the Private and Boarding School Directive issued on February 19.

DoE is concerned over the inclination of the Private and Boarding School Association of Nepal (PABSON) to flout the directive, and it has reiterated that any school flouting the guideline would be penalized as per Article 17 of the Education Act, 1972.

The government, issuing a press statement on Wednesday, urged guardians and students to complain to DoE and the district education office if any institution is found charging more than Rs 25 for an admission form and Rs 100 for school admission.

DoE Director Tek Narayan Pandey told Republica that DoE has also directed the private schools to develop a transparent mechanism for conducting school entrance exams and implementing the new directive down to the last word while publishing the results.

Meanwhile, the administration of Buddhanilkantha School, which is under the government, had been charging Rs 1,000 per admission form since Thursday. However, the only national-level school of the country, whose management committee is chaired by the government secretary, later reduced the admission form rate to Rs 100 after guardians complained to DoE.

MoE Secretary Som Lal Subedi said that he has directed the school administration to reduce the admission form charge and reimburse guardians who were charged Rs 1,000.

Similarly, guardians have also complained about admission forms at schools operated by the Nepal Police and the Nepal Army, which have charged Rs 500 and 350 respectively. Secretary Subedi added that schools run by the security agencies are guided by their own separate law.

“MoE will discuss with the security agencies on adhering to the rule applicable to all schools,” he mentioned.

GEMS, Suvatara and Paragon are among the private schools charging 500 per admission form.

Though the guideline was promulgated after a series of discussions among PABSON representatives, government officials and guardians, PABSON announced a week ago that it would defy the directive, claiming it threatened the sustainability of 40 percent of private schools across the country and that these would face the prospect of merger in case of poor infrastructure and performance.

The government had introduced the directive following a Supreme Court order to regulate the private schools.

source: republica,21 March 2013