Committee hikes private school fee by 22 percent

KATHMANDU, APR 14: The Fee Determination and Monitoring Committee in Kathmandu has finally increased private schools’ tuition fee by 22 percent for the new academic session. The decision was reached after guardian associations and private schools operators agreed on the rate.

Though the Education Regulation makes it mandatory for the authorities to determine the tuition fee three months before a new academic session starts, the decision was made just four days before the new session, which starts formally on Thursday, owing to differences between guardians and private schools.

While private schools were demanding for over 64 percent increment on average, guardians were claiming that a hike over 20 percent was unjustifiable. The Private and Boarding Schools’ Organisation Nepal (Pabson) and National-Pabson, earlier, had proposed for 60 percent increase in tuition fees saying that they could not . emanded that they should be authorised to charge Rs 2,575 (for primary level), Rs 2,631 (lower secondary) and Rs 2,981 (secondary) for the ‘C’ grade schools.

The government has divided private schools in four categories based on their infrastructure and performance.

With the increment, the ‘C’ grade schools can now charge maximum Rs 1,342 in the primary level, Rs 1,525 in the lower-secondary and Rs 2,074 in the secondary level, according to Suprabhat Bhandari, a member of the Central Fee Determination and Monitoring Committee (CFDMC).

The Private and Institutional Schools Directives allows the schools from ‘B’ grade to charge 25 percent more than more than ‘C’ grade schools while ‘A’ grade institutions are allowed to charge 50 percent extra. The fee will come to an effect after the CFDMC endorses it.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu Pabson Chairman Thakin Gurung said the government should adopt a scientific way of fee determination in order to avoid such tussle in the future.