Indian schools in Qatar accused of overcharging fee

Several Indian schools in Qatar have been accused of charging fees much above the rates permitted by CBSE, causing resentment among parents. While the CBSE has fixed Rs 3,000 (195-197 Qatari riyals at current exchange rates) as the examination fee to be collected from overseas Indian students appearing for the Class 12 board examinations to be held in March next year, MES (Middle-East Education Society) Indian School is levying a whopping QR 500, local reports said. CBSE officials in New Delhi and those representing the body in the region confirm that such practices are 'in gross violation' of the prevailing rules, a Gulf Times news report said. A number of parents have already paid the fee as their wards need to appear for the first terminal examination which is already underway. "There is no justification whatsoever to collect such an amount from the children in the name of the CBSE examination," a CBSE official in the region was quoted as saying. The CBSE, he said, has fixed the upper ceiling (Rs 3,000) on the fee based on certain yardsticks and no school is allowed to violate this. The official insisted that the schools on their own cannot decide on the amount to be collected as fee for board examinations. Some Indian schools in Qatar, however, have collected only the Qatari Riyal equivalent (QR 197) as examination fee. In a related development in Oman, the Indian School Al Seeb (ISAS) management committee agreed to put on hold a tuition fee hike decision till it is passed unanimously by parents. The school management assured that the fees will not be hiked until the decision is ratified unanimously by the parents. The tuition fee was hiked by the Indian School Board of Directors, effective April 1, in the 19 Indian schools in Oman following plans to hike teachers' salary.