Schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education will now have to decide their fee structure as per the board directive.

Earlier, the schools had a free hand in deciding the fee structure but a CBSE circular issued on September 29 said now it will be decided by the board and the fee structure would be based on facilities available at schools.

The school administration needs to upload the information regarding the infrastructure, services, number of teachers and fee structure of their respective schools on the link "mandatory disclosure for CBSE schools" which is available on the board's official website cbse.nic.in, latest by October 31, 2016.

Schools have also been asked to update the same on their school's official website and update it twice a year said Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, the chairman of CBSE, during his visit to Patna. The Telegraph spoke to few school principals and parents.

DAV Public School, BSEB Colony

Tuition fees: Rs 28,290 per annum

Principalspeak: "More than 80 per cent students are children of employees of the energy department and their school fee is three times less than general students. This year, the school administration increased tuition fees by Rs 3,690 annually. The school has increased the number of teachers to 185, including 29 on an ad-hoc basis. If we have to provide good and qualified teachers to the students, we also need money," said V.S. Ojha, and added that the CBSE will take this factor into account while taking a call on fee structure.

Parentspeak: "I am happy that the school will not be able to tweak the fee structure on their own. Every year, the school increases fee by 10-12 per cent. Educating a kid has become a costly affair. I hope this guideline will be strictly implemented by the board and it will be a boon for parents like us," said Divyanshu Sahay, whose son studies in DAV-BSEB.

Open Minds - A Birla School, Kankerbagh

Tuition fee: Rs 36,000 per annum

Principalspeak: "The school administration provides number of facilities to the students which include air-conditioned classrooms, buses, indoor and outdoor playground, water filters at different points on the school campus, specialised teachers for robotics and photography and provides and maintains specialised equipment for the same. Our fee structure is justified to the facilities we provide," said Madhukar Jha.

Parentspeak: "It is good that we get to know whether the amount I am paying for my children's education is actually utilised in their growth or not and what facilities they are getting. The board's decision to ensure that the school does not increase the fee unreasonably is justified for both parents and schools," said Vinita Singh, a mother of two whose two sons study in Open Minds - A Birla School.

Loyola High School, Patliputra

Tuition fee: Rs 26,000 per annum

Principalspeak: "There are so many reasons that influence the fee structure of the school. I appreciate the decision taken by the board and it is good that the parents will know why the school increased the tuition fee. The school is only charging for the facilities and services that they provide to the students. We are not making a profit here," said Brother Satheesh K Don.

Parentspeak: "It is a big relief for the parents as the school increases the fee by 10 to 15 per cent every year. A large portion of our income is spent on children's education and it becomes difficult to shell out such a big amount," said Pragya Mishra, whose daughter studies in Loyola High School.