CHENNAI: Despite explicit directions from the school education department following orders from the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission, many private schools across the state failed to publicly display their approved fee structure by the June 5 deadline, a ground check by TNIE has found.

Of the more than 15 schools TNIE visited in Chennai, only one had displayed its fee details, while another claimed the information was available on its website. Similar non-compliance to the transparency measure was reported in districts including Tiruchy, Madurai and Coimbatore. This comes when many schools, in a bid to attract admissions, prominently put up banners showcasing their student toppers after the declaration of the Class 10 and 12 board examination results.

At two schools in northern Chennai, staff said they were unaware of the government’s directive. At a matriculation higher secondary school in Tondiarpet, a staff member admitted that the fee structure had not yet been displayed. When TNIE asked for the fee details, it was read out by a staff member who refused to show the complete list.

A parent who recently visited several schools seeking admission for his son in Class 4 said the lack of transparency has made it difficult for families to compare costs before approaching institutions. “I visited at least three private and CBSE schools in and around Tiruvottiyur, but none had displayed the fee structure as directed by the government,” the parent added.

In Tiruchy, education officials found that several schools had either displayed outdated fee details or failed to upload the information on their websites. The school authorities told officials that the details were being updated and would be published after discussions with the management. Officials said that non-compliant schools had been instructed to act immediately and that a final compliance report would be submitted to the higher authorities by June 10.

TNIE’s visit to a few private schools in Madurai found the situation no different. In Coimbatore, TNIE visited four private and aided schools only to find that none had publicly displayed their fee structure. A parent from Vadavalli said that a private school had collected Rs 21,000 in tuition fee for Class 1, although the school fee determination committee has fixed it at Rs 11,790.

Officials, including Coimbatore Chief Educational Officer R Balamurali, said schools had been directed to comply with the order and submit photographic evidence. “So far, we have not received any such photographs from the schools,” said A Karmegam, district educational officer (private schools), Madurai.

The directive stems from a recent order of the state information commission, which directed the school education department to ensure that all private schools proactively disclose their approved fee structure by displaying them prominently on campus, publishing them on their website and including class-wise fee details in admission application forms.

The order was passed after education officials delayed providing fee details sought by an RTI applicant for more than two years. Minister for School Education Rajmohan A had also assured that the directions would be implemented strictly.

(Inputs from N Dhamodharan @ Coimbatore, Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam @ Madurai and Pearson Lenekar S R @ Tiruchy)

This story has been written by Subashini Vijayakumar and Praveena S A.