PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Dehradun district administration has ordered Mount Litera and Scholars Home schools to reduce their fees after finding them in violation of the fee norms. The administration found that both schools recently increased fees beyond the permitted limit. Officials directed Scholars Home to adjust the excess fees collected from parents in the next installment.
The administration started the review after receiving complaints through the CM Helpline, toll-free numbers and other channels. The Dehradun district magistrate Savin Bansal formed a committee chaired by the chief development officer Abhinav Shah that is currently reviewing private school fee structures and addressing complaints one by one. The officials informed that the administration summoned six private school operators for a hearing on Tuesday.
Social Baluni Public School and Sri Chaitanya Techno School did not attend, prompting the authorities to issue them notices. Officials also summoned Summer Valley School for failing to submit a compliance report regarding the earlier directive that capped fee hikes at six percent, as per the officials. They informed that the representatives from Christ School Majri Grant in Doiwala, Mount Litera, Saint Kabir and Flower Dale appeared before the committee. Officials reviewed their fee structures and found that Mount Litera increased its fees beyond the permitted limit for the 2025–26 academic session. The school received strict instructions to limit the hike to 10 per cent.
The other three schools followed the standard guidelines, the officials claimed. They said that the administration also reviewed a complaint against Scholars Home and confirmed that the school raised its fees by 12 per cent. The CDO ordered the school to reduce the hike and adjust the excess fees in future payments. He reminded all schools that, according to the RTE Act and related provisions, schools may increase fees by a maximum of 10 per cent over three years. He directed all private schools to comply with these rules.
The administration also instructed the schools to publish clear lists of textbooks and uniforms used in their curriculum. Schools must display these lists on notice boards and issue circulars to ensure parents can access the materials from various shops at reasonable prices, as per the CDO orders.
