Patna: The Bihar government is planning to bring a bill in the next Assembly session to check arbitrary fee hikes by private schools, a move that will come as a relief to countless parents.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi made the announcement while attending the state government's Teachers' Day function at SK Memorial Hall on Wednesday. "The private schools charge fees arbitrarily," he said. "Through the Act, the fee will be regularised which will open the doors for students belonging to economically poor families to avail education at private schools."

States such as Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Assam already have their own laws for regulating the fee structure at private schools. The Tamil Nadu law was legally challenged but was upheld by the Supreme Court.

"The education department is preparing the bill," said Manoj Kumar, additional secretary, education department. "It will be sent to the legal and finance departments for approval. Once it is approved it will be tabled in the Assembly. The bill once approved by the Assembly will be applicable to all private schools in the state. However, as minority institutions are not covered under the ambit of Right to Education, such schools will not be covered under the Act."

Education department sources said the bill mandates that before increasing fees, schools would have to consult a regulatory committee comprising representatives from the district administration, the education department, parents, and school management. The annual fee hike would have to be less than 10 per cent and the schools would have to display the fee structure on their websites. The bill also has provisions of imposing fines on schools that do not follow its directives.

Private schools, however, have reservations over the government move.

"It is a step to destroy school education in the state," said D.K Singh, chairman, Bihar Public School & Children Welfare Association. "The government by having control over private schools wants to make private schools like government schools. If the government wants to bring any such regulation they should first discuss with private schools' authorities."

He added: "Private schools have the best qualified teachers getting handsome salaries. If there is any compromise on fee structure we will be left with no other alternative but to appoint teachers with poor salaries."

Shabnam Mishra, whose son studies in Class XII at DAV BSEB school, said: "The government step is welcome. DAV charges Rs 5,000 as monthly fees apart from Rs 1,300 as bus fees. Also, during admission in Class XII we had to pay Rs 38,000 as admission fees. If the government controls fees parents will get huge relief."