Private Educational Institutes in Assam to Need Govt Nod for Fee Hike

From now on, private educational institutions in Assam cannot hike their fees without prior approval of the state government’s regulatory body, officials said on Tuesday. The Assam Non-Government Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) (Amendment) Bill, 2022, passed in the Assembly on Monday, has recommended penal measures against private educational institutions in the state that don’t comply with the provisions of the Fee Regulation Act.

According to the bill, “subject to the provisions of section 10 of the Act, the Fee Regulatory Committee shall recommend maximum limits of fees to be charged by the different categories of Non-Government Educational Institutions in every year before starting of the academic session”.

Private educational institutions will have to file applications before the government constituted Fee Regulatory Committee for exemption and fixation of their fee structure by October 31.

The amendment bill also said that if the non-government educational institutions fail to apply before the Committee, Rs 10,000 penalty will be imposed on them for non-submission of the applications before the deadline.

After the deadline, a late fee of Rs 5,000 per month will also be charged.

“In the event of non-submission of the proposal by the non-government educational institutions before starting of the new academic session to determine their fee structure, the Fee Regulatory Committee shall suo moto determine the fee structure of that particular institution which shall be binding on such school,” the amendment bill added.

It is believed that the state government has taken this step after a series of complaints raised against a section of private educational institutes in the state about hiking their fees without any prior notice.

A few students and guardians also filed complaints that a few non-government educational institutes abruptly hiked their fees to cover the loss inducted due to the Covid pandemic outbreak. They earlier urged the government to take stern steps to stop this kind of practice by the private institutes.

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