A steering committee responsible for fixing and monitoring fees in private and boarding schools has instructed the schools not to implement the decision to increase fees for now.

A meeting of the School Fee Fixing and Monitoring Central Committee on Sunday decided to instruct PABSON and N-PABSON- umbrella organizations of private schools in the country-to hold their decision of fee hike, until a scientific fee structure is worked out in consultation with stakeholders.

The committee also decided to instruct education offices in the districts to ensure the fees had not been hiked without proper procedure.

Private and Boarding Schools Organisation (PABSON) and National Private and Boarding Schools Association of Nepal (N-PABSON0 have agreed to issue circulars to their affiliate schools not to implement their earlier decision to hike fees by up to 25 percent.

Instead, they will direct the affiliate schools to submit a proposal justifying fee hike to respective district monitoring committees.

Earlier, private schools had hiked their fees by up to 25 percent without completing the procedure.

According to an education by-law, private schools can increase fees only after an approval from respective District Education Offices (DEO). Schools should file a proposal of fee hike, two months before the beginning of an academic year. An assembly of parents should pass such proposal, before the school management files the proposal at the DEO. nepalnews.com Apr 20 09