By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
After the public outcry, unaided private schools in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, have started rolling back arbitrary fee hikes albeit partially.
In the recent past, parents have voiced their concern over the exorbitant fee hikes by leading private schools forcing the higher authorities to crack whip.
“Under the strict instructions of Chief Minister (Pushkar Singh Dhami) and the toughness shown by the district administration, the private schools are on the back foot. These schools have reduced the fee which was increased arbitrarily,” a state government official said.
Dehradun District Magistrate Savin Bansal investigated the fees structure of nearly 25 private schools. Buckling under the pressure, the private schools started revising the fee structure which was arbitrarily increased by 35 percent. “As per new instructions, the schools cannot hike fees beyond 10 percent. The schools have also been asked to issue a clear advisory to the parents for buying books and dresses anywhere in the market,” the official added.
The DM has issued a strict warning that if the new instructions are ignored, the recognition of the erring schools will be canceled. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the district administration had thoroughly investigated all the private schools. As soon as the administration adopted a strict attitude, some reputed schools immediately started adhering to the new instructions.
The district administration has thoroughly investigated the fee structure of the last five years in 25 private schools including St. Joseph’s Academy (SJA) and Summer Valley School. The district administration found that some schools had hiked fee up to 35 percent arbitrarily.
The District Magistrate Bansal said fees above the prescribed standard, exploitation of parents will not be tolerated. If any complaint is received from anywhere, strict action will be taken and the recognition of such schools will be cancelled.