Govt to act tough on schools, bookshops selling textbooks at inflated rates: Sakina Itoo

Srinagar, Nov 12: Minister for Education, Social Welfare, Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, chaired a high-level meeting at the Civil Secretariat here to review issues related to fee fixation and regulation of private schools across Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Secretary School Education Department, Ram Niwas Sharma; Director School Education Kashmir, Naseer Ahmad Wani; Secretary JKBOSE, Ghulam Hassan Sheikh; Director School Education Jammu, Dr. Naseem Javaid; Director Finance School Education Department; Administrative Officer, Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC), and other concerned officials, both in person and through video conferencing.

During the meeting, the Minister held extensive deliberations on fee regulation, operational transparency, and monitoring mechanisms for private educational institutions. She stressed that education is a social responsibility and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that no student is denied education due to arbitrary or unreasonable fee structures.

Expressing concern over the unregulated sale of school textbooks at inflated prices, the Minister issued firm directions to Chief Education Officers (CEOs) to conduct routine inspections of schools and bookshops. She instructed them to take stringent action against those involved in selling textbooks at exorbitant rates.

The Minister also directed the Director School Education to issue clear orders on the prescribed curriculum and textbooks to be followed by all schools and ensure strict compliance through respective CEOs.

Sakina Itoo directed the officers to strictly enforce the existing guidelines and intensify monitoring to curb irregularities. She underscored the need for transparency in fee disclosure, adherence to approved structures, and prompt redressal of complaints from parents and students.

Acknowledging the contribution of private schools to the education sector, the Minister called for constructive engagement among school managements, parent associations, and the government to create a fair and accountable educational framework across Jammu and Kashmir.

Further, she instructed the establishment of a robust grievance redressal mechanism to address complaints related to school fee structures and textbook pricing.

Sakina Itoo also called for the creation of a dynamic, government-hosted website to facilitate online applications, fee data submission, and public access to approved fee structures. She asked officials to develop evidence-based recommendations for periodic fee revision to maintain both affordability and sustainability in private education.