Gandhinagar: Gujarat government today announced the much awaited Zonal Fee Regulation Committees (FRC) under the Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017.

Government, however, announced the heads of only three of the four such committees.

Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma said that retired IAS officer and former principal secretary C L Meena would head the committee in Ahmedabad region. Retired judges Ashok Dave and M P Seth would head the committees for Surat and Rajkot zones respectively.

He said that the name of the head of the committee for Vadodara would be finalized and announced soon.

Under the Act each of the four zone needed to have an FRC to regulate the fees. Each committee is to be coordinated by the concerned district education officers. It is to be headed by a retired district judge or a retired IPS officer not below the rank of Additional DGP or an IAS officer not below the rank of Principal Secretary as the chairperson. Whereas, other members of the FRC will be government-appointed engineer or valuer, a chartered accountant, an educationist of repute or a representative of school managements of the concerned zone. The FRC has been given wide powers to verify the justifications given by private schools for the fees being charged by them.

Under the Act, the Gujarat government has kept a cap of Rs 15,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 27,000 for private primary, secondary and higher secondary schools respectively. Any school charging fees more than this will have to justify their fees before the FRC. In case of violation of the Act, the concerned school can face punitive steps which include de-recognition on third violation. For the first and second violation they will have to pay Rs 5 and 10 lakh as penalty.

DeshGujarat