Title: The Cost Of
Education
(There is a lack of jurisprudential clarity on the
fees charged by private schools)
Regulating school fees is one of the most
significant legal and political challenges policymakers in India face. The
issue of fee regulation finds itself at the intersection of constitutionally
protected freedoms enjoyed by private schools and the need for making quality
education affordable and accessible.
ü Over
the years, the issue of skyrocketing tuition fees has confronted parents.
Adding to their burden is the annual and steep hike in tuition fees along with
additional costs such as fees for transport, extra-curricular activities and
sports.
ü Every
academic year sees the media reporting instances of unhappy parents expressing
their anger against what they perceive to be unjust hikes.
ü The
managements of such schools claim that these hikes are reasonable and justified
as the costs of maintaining a fully functional private school with quality
teaching and world-class infrastructure are quite steep.
ü In
this context, balancing the autonomy of private schools and their public
welfare function becomes a contentious issue.
So can private schools
arbitrarily hike fees?
In T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka (2002), the Supreme Court held that regulatory measures imposed on unaided private educational institutions must, in general, ensure the maintenance of proper academic standards, atmosphere and infrastructure and the prevention of mal-administration by the school management.
ü Subsequently,
in Islamic Academy of Education and Anr. v. State of Karnataka and Ors (2003),
a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that these institutions have the
autonomy to generate “surplus” which must be used for their betterment and
growth.
ü While
private schools are ‘entitled to a reasonable surplus for development of
education and expansion of the institution, there has to be a balance between
autonomy of such institutions and the measures taken to prevent
commercialisation of education’.
ü However,
there is not much clarity on what the terms “surplus”, “reasonable surplus” or
“commercialisation of education” entail.
Weak
laws
ü In order to prevent private schools from charging
unreasonably high fees and to prevent misuse of funds, several State
governments have either enacted fee regulation laws or are in the process of
framing them.
ü States such as Tamil Nadu follow the fee fixation model
whereby a government committee is empowered to verify and approve fee
structures proposed by private schools.
ü Karnataka is for a formula that caps fees for schools by
way of framing rules under its school education legislation.
ü Maharashtra has a weakly enforced legislation to regulate
fees and has multiple government bodies to approve school fees.
ü Recently, the Maharashtra government’s decision to cap
proposed fee hikes at 15% was widely criticised by schools.
ü A recent order of the Gujarat High Court upholding the
validity of the Gujarat Self Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017 is
now being reconsidered by the Supreme Court. The court has directed the
government to not take any coercive steps against schools in the interim
period.
ü As of now, these models are affected by the challenges of
weak implementation, a lack of capacity and constant legal challenges posed by
private school associations.
Case
ü In
2010, the Comptroller and Auditor General slammed 25 well-known private schools
in Delhi for arbitrary fee hikes.
ü According
to the report, money was being collected from parents under false heads, while
at the same time, teachers were being underpaid, and accounts misrepresented.
Accounting standards
ü The
new wave of fee regulation laws being debated and enforced in States has the
potential to address the problems Indian parents face.
ü However,
there is still a lack of jurisprudential clarity on what private schools can or
cannot do, how much “surplus” they can make, or what “commercialisation”
actually means.
Solution
ü In
order to make these laws more effective, the solution would be to address the
disease of financial mismanagement and misreporting, and not the symptoms.
ü Measures
such as regular government supervised audits, generating capacity in
State-level Departments of Education, regular inspections, and stricter
sanctions for fraudulent reporting could be considered.
- Intersection (noun) = Crossing (चौराहा)
- Skyrocket (verb) = Increase very steeply or rapidly
- (rate or amount) (आसमान छूने)
- Confront (verb) = To deal with, challenge (सामना करना)
- Perceive (verb) = Understand (समझना)
- Autonomy (noun) = A self governing body (स्वत्व अधिकार)
- Contentious (adj) = Controversial (विवादास्पद)
- Arbitrarily (adv) = Autocratically (मनमाने ढंग से)
- Commercialisation (noun) = The process of managing something for financial gain
- Entail (verb) = Necessitate (आवश्यक)
- Coercive (adj) = Relating to using force or threats (बलपूर्वक)
- Entrench (verb) = Establish to so firmly that change is very difficult
