School says stay on fee hike lifted, education secretary denies it
TNN | Oct 2, 2017, 07:15 IST
Representative ImageGURUGRAM: Two months after the fee and fund regulatory committee (FFRC) stayed the fee hike in Blue Bells Model School, Sector 4, parents claim to have received a message from the school that the order has been overruled.
The school has now asked parents to pay the hiked fee by October 4.
On July 31, the FFRC had dismissed the school's entitlement to hike fee as it had failed to submit Form VI on time - a key prerequisite before a school can hike the fee. "The FFRC had conducted an audit and asked the school to roll back the fee. However, the order has been further stayed by the additional chief secretary. This is unfair to us," said a parent. To make matters worse, the school has now asked us to pay the fee by October 4, in four days' time, with holidays in between," said Mahesh, a parent.
Suman Gulati, director, Blue Bells Model School, told TOI: "We are glad that the order has been stayed. We have been saying all along that our fee hike is reasonable and within the prescribed norms, which is why we decided to challenge the FFRC order."
Parents said they had received a message that additional chief secretary, school education, K K Khandelwal, had overruled the FFRC's decision. However, Khandelwal denied passing any such order. "No such order has been passed," he told TOI on Sunday. Asked about the communication from the school, he said he wasn't aware of it.
Parents said they would now approach chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. "We are not going to pay the fees. We'll go to the CM, and if required, we will also approach the Union HRD ministry against the school. They are charging Rs 1.2 lakh per student, whereas our calculations say it should not be more than Rs 45,000," said Bakshi Singh, father of a Class V student.
The school has now asked parents to pay the hiked fee by October 4.
On July 31, the FFRC had dismissed the school's entitlement to hike fee as it had failed to submit Form VI on time - a key prerequisite before a school can hike the fee. "The FFRC had conducted an audit and asked the school to roll back the fee. However, the order has been further stayed by the additional chief secretary. This is unfair to us," said a parent. To make matters worse, the school has now asked us to pay the fee by October 4, in four days' time, with holidays in between," said Mahesh, a parent.
Suman Gulati, director, Blue Bells Model School, told TOI: "We are glad that the order has been stayed. We have been saying all along that our fee hike is reasonable and within the prescribed norms, which is why we decided to challenge the FFRC order."
Parents said they had received a message that additional chief secretary, school education, K K Khandelwal, had overruled the FFRC's decision. However, Khandelwal denied passing any such order. "No such order has been passed," he told TOI on Sunday. Asked about the communication from the school, he said he wasn't aware of it.
Parents said they would now approach chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. "We are not going to pay the fees. We'll go to the CM, and if required, we will also approach the Union HRD ministry against the school. They are charging Rs 1.2 lakh per student, whereas our calculations say it should not be more than Rs 45,000," said Bakshi Singh, father of a Class V student.
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Are the schools in Gurgaon are really school? I doubt. How come Delhi had managed to put these private school nose hole closed by their own fingers?Are we really choosing the right people?
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