Govt to check School Admission Malpractices

A new Bill aimed at checking malpractices in the school system proposes penalties ranging between Rs 1-10 lakh and more for offences like seeking capitation fee, misleading advertisements and incorrect information. That apart, it suggests stiff disclosure norms for schools demanding that they put out in the public domain details of available seats per class, complete details of fee and educational qualifications of teachers.

Modelled on the lines of the Bill to check unfair practices in higher educational institutes, this draft legislation is aimed at ushering in transparency and better accountability in schools through its strong focus on self-disclosure norms. Piloted by the HRD ministry, the proposed Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Schools Bill has a long list of dos and dont's.


The schools, it says, need to put out a public information notice at least 60 days before admissions begin. This notice shall give details of fee structure with full break-up, including tuition fee component, refundable amount, deposits; number of seats in each class, minimum qualifications for admission, screening and selection.

Schools will be required to declare teacher specific details — educational qualifications, work experience, whether they are on contract or regular basis; infrastructure like laboratories, playgrounds, hostels, libraries; broad outlines of curriculum, textbooks used. The don'ts say that no school can expel a student on grounds of poor academic performance or deny admission if a student may be suffering from HIV, any serious ailment or disability. Specifically focusing on admissions in classes XI and XII, the draft legislation states that admissions to these classes must be strictly on merit basis. A school that knowingly does something contrary to what is stated in its information notice, may have to cough up a steep Rs 10 lakh as penalty. Accepting capitation/ donation could mean a penalty up to 10 times the capitation fee sought. A school that refuses to return the certificates or other documents related to a student on grounds like non-payment of fee could be slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lakh while a false or misleading advertisement could attract up to Rs 10 lakh in fine.