22-04-2025
Controversy at city school over excess fee demand for leaving certificates
Vadodara: A fresh controversy has erupted at city-based
St Kabir School
following allegations that the institution is demanding
excess fees
from parents requesting
school leaving certificates
(LCs) for their children.
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On Tuesday, a group of concerned parents, along with members of the
Vadodara Parents Association
, submitted a memorandum to the Vadodara district education officer (DEO), accusing the school of coercing parents into paying additional fees to obtain LCs.
Following their visit to the DEO office, the group also gathered at the school premises and later approached the Gotri police station to seek police intervention.
According to the parents, despite assurances from the DEO that the school would address their grievances, the school management failed to provide the necessary documents, resulting in a deadlock.
At the police station, parents alleged that school officials were harassing them and their children instead of issuing the certificates.
In response, the school management issued a statement asserting that it is acting in accordance with a
Gujarat high court
verdict and the directives of the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC).
The principal explained that while the FRC had previously barred the school from collecting term and admission fees—charges permitted under the Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017—the HC ruled in 2022 that schools are indeed entitled to levy such fees in addition to the amounts fixed by the FRC. An appeal against this order, filed by the state govt, was dismissed by the high court in 2024.
"With the legal position now clarified, the school has undertaken a reconciliation of all fee-related accounts, including the recovery and refund of fees.
The process of refunding excess payments made by parents has already begun, and recovery of unpaid dues is now underway," the school's statement read.
