A prominent educational institute in Srinagar was charging Rs 300 to the students for consecutive three years asking them that the money would be utilized to get the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) registration for the school.However, what happened later is something which the parents of the students term as “duping”.According to sources, the collected amount, which was enhanced by 15 percent after every year in the last three years, amounted to lakhs of rupees.According to the documents available with KNS, Minto Circle, English Medium High school at Alouchi Bagh area, was charging Rs 300 per student since 2013 as CBSE fee. But even after three years there was no CBSE registration to the school, which raised eyebrows. Some parents took notice of the issue and the matter was brought before Committee for Fixation of Fee structure of Private Educational Institutions.The Committee for Fixation of Fee structure of Private Educational Institutions of J&K state started enquiring the matter and later stated the school is not affiliated with the CBSE and it was found the stand taken by the school was “unreasonable one and can’t be justified”.The documents read that the school management has also admitted that they were charging Rs 300 from each student as CBSE charges.
“The committee headed by Justice (Retd) Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain had directed the school management to refund the sum they collected from the students since 2013,” document reveals.The school in response to the direction had written to the committee that they have already returned the amount to the students.However, a delegation comprising of parents told KNS that the school management didn’t refund the amount they deposited as part of CBSE charges and the claims made by the school were baseless.They said that the school management refunded the amount to only few students of class 10.Meanwhile, the committee as per the documents said that they have considered the matter. “The act of the school clearly amounts to causing wrongful gain to the school and wrongful loss to the students/their parents. The act of the school besides being a criminal act is highly improper,” the committee as per the documents said.The committee as per the order under no 137-FFC of 2016 has directed the school management to return the sum so far collected from the students/their parents as CBSE charges within two months.When contacted the Minto Circle, a woman official who refused to divulge her details said come to the office then only they will talk. Asked if she can share the number of the principal, she refused saying. How would she trust that she is talking to a journalist? “It can be any other fake person. Prove your identity then only I will talk,” she said. (KNS)