Andhra passes bills to form committees to regulate fees in schools, private institutions

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Monday passed two bills to regulate school and higher educational institutions in the state. The bills aim to regulate fee structure in private institutions and monitor education standards. 

The Andhra Pradesh School Education and Higher Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Bills will set up the two commissions, which will work towards students’ interests by monitoring educational institutions. 

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy tweeted about the bill on Monday, saying, “Education is not a business, it’s a service. We are going to make education accessible to low-income and middle-income communities. We have passed bills to set up a commission under the guidance of retired High Court judges, to monitor fees and infrastructure facilities in schools and colleges.”

విద్య వ్యాపారం కాదు, అదొక సేవ మాత్రమే. పేద, మధ్యతరగతి ప్రజలకు అందుబాటులోకి చదువులను తీసుకొస్తున్నాం. రిటైర్డ్ హైకోర్టు జడ్జిల ఆధ్వర్యంలో స్కూళ్లు, కాలేజీల ఫీజులపై నియంత్రణ, మౌలిక సదుపాయాలపై పర్యవేక్షణకు కమిషన్లను ఏర్పాటుచేస్తూ అసెంబ్లీలో బిల్లులను ఆమోదించాం.

— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) July 29, 2019

The AP School Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission is set to be headed by a retired High Court Judge who will be appointed by the Chief Justice of AP High Court. Apart from regulating fee structures, the Commission will monitor admissions and teaching standards in private educational institutions, and also inspect private schools to grade them, according to The New Indian Express.  

CM Jagan also said that the commission will ensure effective implementation of the RTE Act, noting that the commission will have powers to enforce closure of schools which continue to violate RTE norms despite repeated warnings. 

As the bill was being passed in the Assembly, Jagan mentioned that ministers were running schools and colleges in the state, with private school fees shooting up to Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh in the absence of regulatory mechanisms. 

The CM also said that the RTE Act had not been implemented properly in the state, noting that the illiteracy rate of AP as per 2011 census was recorded at 33%, which was higher than the national average of 26%. 

The 11-member AP School Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission will also include a prominent Chartered Accountant or a person with 20 years of experience in the field of public finance, five eminent academicians, two persons with experience in administrative matters, one senior school education official of the rank of director or additional director (retired or in service ), and one representative of a reputed educational institution in the state.