Community schools collecting fees against constitutional provision

By Arjun Kafle,Syangja. Jan. 8: Article 31 of The Constitution of Nepal states that every citizen shall have the right to get compulsory and free education up to the secondary level from the state, but even the model community schools in Syangja district have been found charging fees on different headings violating the constitutional provision. 

Currently, about 1350 students are studying at Tribhuwan Aadarsha Namuna Secondary School in Putalibazaar Municipality-1. 

The school has charged Rs. 600 more than the registration fee prescribed by the Examination Board. 

The school has charged Rs. 2,000 to issue character certificates for the students. 

Students are taught in both English and Nepali medium at Tribhuwan Aadarsha Namuna School. The students of grade four are compelled to pay Rs. 300 and students of grade 10 are compelled to pay Rs. 600 as a monthly fee.

Mukti Prasad Regmi, Headmaster of the school, said that the school has a quota for only 29 teachers, but now 68 teachers are working in the school.  

Due to the weak financial condition of the school, the school is forced to collect monthly fees from the students to pay the additional teachers.

Regmi said, “Although it is against the law to collect fees from the students, we have discussed with parents and have collected fees with the consent of the concerned parents to run the school smoothly” 

Dahathum Secondary School of Bhirkot Municipality has charged Rs. 6 000 to issue School Leaving Certificates, to avoid the expense, the poor parents are admitting their wards to the same school after SEE. 

The admission fee is waived for the students who joined the same school after passing the SEE examination,” said Shyam Kaji Adhikari, the Chairman of Ward No. 2.

Kalika Secondary School of Putalibazaar Municipality-13 also charges Rs. 1,000 as SEE registration fee and students studying in English medium are obliged to pay Rs. 650 as a monthly fee. 

The model school of Waling Municipality, Ranabir Janhit Secondary School, has charged Rs 3,250 to issue a character certificate. 

Most schools have charged Rs. 1,000 as a registration fee and an additional Rs.1,000 as an examination fee.

The local government and the District Education Unit have remained silent on these malpractices going on in the pretext of English medium and character certificates.

Bishwa Raj Acharya, the head of the District Education Coordination Unit, said that the local body was more responsible for the fee and that the office could not do anything regarding the collection of the fees.