Haryana private schools try to bypass fee scrutiny with this ‘0'
According to the directorate, most private schools filled '0' in the section for declaring 'under head fees' in Form 6 submitted for the 2025-26 academic year.
'Under head fees' includes amount charged by schools for non-academic purposes such as building funds, library, laboratory, sports and development costs.
"Almost each school in the column 'under head fee' for the year 2025-26 filled zero, which the case may not be, because schools are charging fees from students," the directorate's July 17 memorandum noted.
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It has now asked district education officers (DEOs) to ensure that schools under their jurisdiction correct the entries by July 31, failing which the department can initiate action, including penalties and restrictions.
Haryana has 10,701 recognised private schools, which have to mandatorily submit Form 6 to the govt every academic year. The form includes details about the school, registration certificate, breakdown of the fee structure and operational costs. This document makes the business of schooling transparent and helps authorities prevent any arbitrary increase in fees.
Norms state that schools must publicly display their Form 6 on campus notice boards or their websites.
Inaccurate disclosures can be punished with a ban by the govt on increasing school fees in an academic year.
Parents said on Friday that the govt's warning was much-needed, considering most private schools in Gurgaon charge anywhere between Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 as monthly fees.
"If almost all private schools have shown zero under-head fees, then it is clearly not the case. Most schools charge high amounts as fees. This is a cover-up.
Schools preach values such as truthfulness, but when it comes to fees, they do the exact opposite," said Pradeep Rawat, head of Gurgaon Parents Association.
But private schools' associations pushed back against the notion that all institutes submitted inaccurate data.
"We respectfully state that this generalisation is not factually accurate. Many schools have submitted correct data. Any discrepancies may have arisen from technical or format-related confusion — not deliberate non-compliance. We have sought a meeting with the directorate to clarify matters and share ground realities. We remain committed to transparency but urge the department to avoid blanket assumptions," said Suresh Chander, president of Haryana Progressive Schools Conference (HPSC), which represents schools affiliated with CBSE and CISCE Board.
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