Though regulating fee structure of coaching centres is as important as is the regulation of the fee structure of private schools but unfortunately the J&K Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (J&K FFRC) mandated to review the fee structure of private schools has no authority and power to oversee the fee structure of coaching centres despite their mushroom growth in both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. Notably the Central Government has told Supreme Court Of India way back in 2014 that it is for the State and Union Territory Governments both the fee structure and as well as overall working of the coaching centres in their concerned states and Union Territories. While Bihar Government has already taken several strong measures to regulate the fee structure of coaching centres across the state, the Jammu & Kashmir Government despite having constituted Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC) long back is yet to extend the powers of regulating fee structure of coaching centres to the said committee already declared a statutory body by the Government. Unprecedented delay in extending the powers of regulating the fee structure of coaching centres to Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC) is overtly and covertly an unwanted and undue favour to the coaching centres and a blow to the parents and students who pay the tuition fee imposed by the Coaching Centres without the consent and approval of the Jammu & Kashmir Government. The delay in extending the powers of regulating the fee structure of coaching centres to Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC) goes against the interests of thousands of students and their parents desperate to take admission at coaching centres for the purposes of preparing themselves well for the NEET Examination conducted for admissions to admission to 645 medical, 318 dental, 914 AYUSH, and 47 BVSc and AH colleges across the country. Asking Coaching centres to just register themselves with the offices of the Concerned Deputy Commissioners and district offices of School Education Department for the purposes of inspecton of the seating and teaching arrangements is by all standards of understandabilities no regulation when the regulation of fee structure and seating and teaching arrangements at the coaching centres is by all spirits of the administrative wisdom the domain of the J&K Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee as it is in case of private schools .
“Since delay in extension of powers of regulating the fee structure of coaching centres to fee fixation and regulation committee (FFRC) goes against the interests of both the students and as well as the very basic spirit of institutional accountability, it is for the Government to take a call on extension of powers of regulating the fee structure of coaching centres to fee fixation and Regulation committee (FFRC) at the earliest”.
While the coaching centres due to delay in extension of powers of regulating the fee structure to the said fee fixation and regulation committee (FFRC) are imposing fee structure at their own whims and wishes over the students and the parents without showing any respect to their grievances, the Director School Education Kashmir does not take any serious note of the increasing grievances of the parents and the students on the unilateral hikes in coaching fee by the coaching centres across Kashmir. Since delay in extension of powers of regulating the fee structure of coaching centres to fee fixation and regulation committee (FFRC) goes against the interests of both the students and as well as the very basic spirit of institutional accountability, it is for the Government to take a call on extension of powers of regulating the fee structure of coaching centres to fee fixation and Regulation committee (FFRC) at the earliest.
