Private Schools suffering from the crisis of institutional accountability since last several years have once again in an abortive bid to exploit both student and as well as the parents under the garb of bus fare revision issued a revised rate card for bus fee without any consent or approval from either the transport commissioner of J&K Government or Fee Fixation Committee for regulation of Private Schools (FFRC).Though under the standing laws of passenger and commercial transport services regulation the J&K Transport Commissioner has the legal authority and power to revise school bus fee on the recommendations of a fare revision committee which usually is also represented by the Regional Transport Officers of twin divisions of Kashmir and Jammu. Never forget that school bus fee has also to revised along with passenger fee keeping in view the fact the school bus fee for all practices also falls in the category of passenger fee. Revising school bus fee without any revision is normal passenger fee as such is highly objectionable and that too when revision in the bus fee is announced by a private body like J&K Private Schools Association (PSAJK). While the Private Schools under the given law and set procedures ,practices and conventions were supposed to make a formal application for revision of the bus fares before the J& K Transport Commission they surprisingly on their own assessment unauthorisedly issued a revised rate card for bus fee. Better it would have been for the private schools to approach the Fee Fixation Committee for regulation of Private Schools (FFRC) for revision of passenger fee as this committee is a statutory body of the J&K Government mandated to regulate the school fee of all forms and never forget that Fee Fixation Committee For Regulation Of Private Schools (FFRC) could have also taken consent and approval for revision of passenger fee from J&K Transport Commissioner after consultations with all stake holders particularly Private Schools Association and the Parents Associations of J&K Private Schools.
Under PSAJK’s recently announced bus fee rate card charges of Rs 1900 for just 5 kilometers is not allowed even in metropolitan cities of the country including New Delhi, Chenaai, Kolkatta and Mumbai. It for the J&K Transport Commissioner, the School Education Department and above all Fee Fixation Committer For Regulation of Private Schools (FFRC) to take a final call for revision of passenger fee and declare the PSAJK’s bus fee rate card null and void in the larger public interests.
Instead of following the standing laws, the proper procedures , and the guidelines laid down by the government for the revision of school fee of all sorts including the bus fee the J&K Private Schools Association (PSAJK) is unfortunately tending to impose it’s own decisions unilaterally over the hapless and helpless students and their parent as if this association has been legally, constitutionally, institutionally and administratively authorised and empowered by the government to carry out reforms in the school education sector and impose it’s own schedule for fee of all sorts on gullible parent and the children. The hapless students and parents reserve the right to know that under what laws the J&K Private School Association (PSAJK) derives the powers and authority to revise any sort of school fee including the tuition and bus fee. Under PSAJK’s recently announced bus fee rate card charges of Rs 1900 for just 5 kilometers is not allowed even in metropolitan cities of the country including New Delhi, Chenaai, Kolkatta and Mumbai. It for the J&K Transport Commissioner, the School Education Department and above all Fee Fixation Committer For Regulation of Private Schools (FFRC) to take a final call for revision of passenger fee and declare the PSAJK’s bus fee rate card null and void in the larger public interests.
