Srinagar, Nov 12: Minister for Education, Social Welfare, Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo, on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting at the Civil Secretariat to review issues related to fee fixation and regulation of private schools across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Secretary School Education Department Ram Niwas Sharma, Director School Education Kashmir Naseer Ahmad Wani, Secretary JKBOSE Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, Director School Education Jammu Dr. Naseem Javaid, Director Finance School Education Department, Administrative Officer Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC), and other concerned officers, both in person and through video conferencing.
During the meeting, the Minister held detailed deliberations on various issues concerning fee regulation, transparency, and accountability in private educational institutions.
Sakeena Itoo emphasized that education is a social responsibility and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that no student is deprived of learning opportunities due to unreasonable fee structures. She directed officers to strictly enforce existing guidelines and strengthen monitoring mechanisms to prevent arbitrary fee hikes and other violations.
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Recognizing the contribution of private schools to the education sector, the Minister called for greater transparency in fee disclosure, adherence to approved structures, and timely redressal of grievances raised by parents and students.
She also directed Chief Education Officers (CEOs) to take strict action against schools and bookshops involved in selling textbooks at exorbitant rates through unregulated agencies. Routine checks on schools and bookshops have been ordered to curb the practice.
Further, the Minister instructed the Director of School Education to issue a comprehensive order specifying the curriculum and textbooks to be followed by all schools, ensuring uniform implementation across districts.
Sakeena Itoo also called for establishing a robust grievance redressal mechanism to address complaints related to fee structures and inflated textbook prices.
Additionally, she directed officials to develop a dynamic government-hosted website for online applications, fee data submission, and transparent access to approved fee structures. The Minister also urged the department to prepare evidence-based recommendations for periodic fee revision to maintain both affordability and sustainability in the private education sector.
