Chandigarh: To curb the tendency among private schools to mint money through sale of highly priced admission forms, the Chandigarh administration has fixed a ceiling of Rs.100 per form for all schools in the Union Territory, officials said on Friday.

Chandigarh's Home and Education Secretary Ram Niwas has directed education officials to ensure that none of the private schools in the city flout the form ceiling to mint money from desperate parents seeking admission for their wards to Nursery and other classes in these schools.

There are over 100 private schools in the city and some of the leading ones are charging up to Rs.500 for application forms alone.

"The purpose of this step is to evolve a policy for private schools so that no extra burden is borne by desperate parents who apply to various schools for admission of their wards. With the admission process going on in all private schools of Chandigarh, these schools are minting money by charging for the admission application forms at exorbitant rates," Ram Niwas pointed out.

Just filling up and submitting the application forms does not guarantee admission to students in any of these schools.

"Since the number of seats in all schools is limited, parents are forced to buy the application forms of various schools to get their wards admitted. These schools are indirectly fleecing parents and it is unethical on the part of schools authorities to extract money through overpriced forms," the Home Secretary said.

Education Department officials found out during a survey of schools that application forms were being sold at higher rates in the name of providing information about the institution in the form of brochures.

The administration has asked schools to display their information on their websites or notice boards. They have been directed to sell the priced brochures only to candidates who are finally selected for admission to respective institutions.

The Education Department will also issue notices to schools warning them against forcing students and parents to buy books from particular book vendors or shops.
The administration has warned schools of action, including dis-affiliation, if they do not adhere to the new guidelines.

-- IANS