Display fee structure at entrance by June 5, private schools told

The Directorate of Private Schools, functioning under the School Education Department, has directed all private schools in Tamil Nadu to publish their tuition fees by June 10.

The directive follows a recent ruling by the Tamil Nadu Information Commission that the school fee structure should be displayed at the entrance of the schools. The Commission instructed the Directorate of Private Schools to ensure compliance with its order and submit a report by June 15. “It has already been instructed that all types of private self-financing schools operating under the Directorate of Private Schools should not charge any fees other than tuition fees,” according to a circular from the Directorate.

The order has directed the principals of all private nursery, primary, matriculation, CBSE, and other board schools to advertise the fee structure fixed by the fee-fixing committee at the schools for the benefit of members of the public. The fees must also be published on the websites of the schools and the tuition fees must be printed class-wise in the application forms for admission.

“All private nursery, primary, matriculation, CBSE, and other board schools must advertise their tuition fees in a transparent manner on the notice board…” the circular said.

The fee structure must be advertised at schools by June 5 and on the school websites by June 10. “The details should be submitted to this office as a report and the respective Chief Education Officer must be informed,” the circular said. It asked all the Chief Education Officers to verify during inspections whether the fee structure was displayed and obtain photographic evidence thereof.