Madhya Pradesh Schools Ordered to Refund Illegal Fee Hikes

Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district have mandated ten private schools to refund nearly Rs 65 crore in extra tuition fees collected from over 81,000 students across seven academic years. The schools had increased fees illegally, bypassing necessary approvals, leading to this major rollback.

Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district have directed ten private schools to refund nearly Rs 65 crore in extra tuition fees collected from over 81,000 students spanning seven academic sessions, an official confirmed on Thursday.

The schools in question had hiked tuition fees in violation of existing laws, according to Jabalpur District Education Officer (DEO) Ghanshyam Soni.

A district-level committee under the Madhya Pradesh Niji Vidyalaya (Fees Tatha Sambandhit Vishayon Ka Viniyaman) Adhiniyam, 2017, investigated the schools' accounts and identified the unauthorized fees. Consequently, authorities nullified the illegal fee hikes and mandated the recovery of Rs 64.58 crore from 81,117 students over the academic years 2018-19 to 2024-25, Soni stated.

The district administration, on May 27, registered 11 FIRs against school officials and some bookshop owners implicated in the unlawful fee and textbook price rises, sources said.

District Collector Deepak Saxena later confirmed that action had been taken against identified school functionaries and textbook vendors following discovery of discrepancies.

According to regulations, schools must seek district administration approval if they intend to increase fees by more than 10 per cent. If the proposed hike exceeds 15 per cent, state government committee approval is required, an official noted.

Some schools had hiked fees by more than 10 per cent, and others by over 15 per cent without necessary permissions, the collector revealed.