Fee hike row: Ryan International School, Patiala, penalised
The management of Ryan International School, Urban Estate Phase 2, Patiala, was penalised for an ‘irrational’ fee hike of up to 14%. A fine of ₹1 lakh was imposed by education secretary Krishan Kumar following an appeal against the school under the Punjab Fee Regulatory Act, 2016.
Since implementation of the Act, this is the first such imposition of penalty on any private school. In the order issued by the education secretary, the school was found violating Section 5, 6 and 10 of the Act. So, the fine was imposed on schools under Section 14 (1) of the Act.
Rakesh Pandey, secretary of Parents’ Association of Ryan International School, said that around 34 parents had filed a complaint with the fee regulatory body of Patiala against the school management in November, 2017. The parents had accused the school management unreasonable increasing the fee, diversion of funds to other trusts and branches, and charging a capitation fee.
Additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Shaukat Ahmad Parre had completed an inquiry into the matter and had submitted a report to the chairman of fee regulatory body. The chairman had further ordered the school to not increase the fee for 2019-20 and 2020-21 sessions.
The ADC had conducted an inquiry into the matter. During the probe, he found that the schools had increased 14% fee in 2016, 14% in 2017 and 8% in 2018, despite having a surplus financial year.
However, he did not impose any fine on the school. Later, the Parents Association appealed to education secretary Krishan Kumar.
The education secretary observed that the fee hike was “unjustified and unnecessary.” In the orders, he said, “With such huge margin of income, the school committee had no reason to further increase the fee.”
He also found that the school had collected donation fees from parents and these amounts were not mentioned in the accounts books which is a violation of Section 5 of the Punjab Fee Regulation Act.
“It has been established that the school management has violated the provisions of Sections 5, 6 and 10 of the Act, therefore in view of Section 14 (1), a fine of ₹1 lakh is being imposed on the school,” the orders read.