Vicious campaign of private schools against Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC) a statutory body of J&K Government over regulation of fee in private schools does not head to any dead end as Showkat Chowdhry claiming to be Chairman of Private Schools Coordinate Committee (PSCC) after his resignation from the said position long back reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a traders delegation to seek almost abolition of FFRC established by virtue of an act. Bizare it is that Showkat Chowdhry on behalf of Private Schools Coordination Committee in a memorandum to Prime Minister has demanded changes in the Education Act only for freeing private schools from the accountability of the government enforced only through Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC) a statutory body of J&K Government. Had Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC) not been in place J&K Private Schools would have charged all kinds of fee even during high intensity pandemic periods in last two years. It was only FFRC which enforced payment of only tuition fee during the high intensity pandemic periods with reasonable hike as otherwise private schools had announced unprecedented hike in the tuition fee even during high intensity pandemic. It may be mentioned here that J&K Private Schools Association (PSAJK) had last year challenged the FFRC order on tuition fee even in the Supreme Court of the country but it could not stop the operation of FFRC order on tuition fee even after top Supreme Court lawyer and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal appeared for one hearing for which private schools might have been charged counseling fee of more than ten lakhs. Interestingly the J&K Private Schools Association (PSAJK) on challenging FFRC order on bus fee hike was recently directed by the J&K High Court to pursue the issue of bus fee hike only with FFRC and as such even J&K High Court refused to stop the operation of FFRC order on bus fee hike. So the FFRC orders both on tuition and bus fee has withstood the legal tests both in Supreme Court and as well as J&K High Court.
Education act can’t be changed at the whims and wishes of private schools for furthering the causes of their profiteering plans. Question can be asked that when New Education Policy is already place, where does the need for changing J&K Education Act arise and that too when assembly in not in place and even if act is changed it won’t be advisable for the government to close down FFRC a statutory body set up for regulating fee of private schools with the spirits of public accountability. Never forget that public accountability is part of the incumbent central government’s ongoing crusade against corruption in Jammu & Kashmir.
As a last resort Showkat Chowdhry claiming to be Chairman of Private Schools Coordinate Committee (PSCC) after quitting the said position long back has reached out to Prime Minister with a demand for change in education act to have one similar to UP but not Punjab which is the immediate neigbouring state of J&K. Interestingly for changing the education act of J&K a bill is to be moved in both the houses of the parliament under present circumstances as no act can be changed without the concurrence of legislature. Above all education act can’t be changed at the whims and wishes of private schools for furthering the causes of their profiteering plans. Question can be asked that when New Education Policy is already place, where does the need for changing J&K Education Act arise and that too when assembly in not in place and even if act is changed it won’t be advisable for the government to close down FFRC a statutory body set up for regulating fee of private schools with the spirits of public accountability. Never forget that public accountability is part of the incumbent central government’s ongoing crusade against corruption in Jammu & Kashmir.
