Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, February 12
Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) is considering rolling back an order that slapped hundreds of students with late fees for not registering for the upcoming board examination in time.
Late fees amounts to Rs 1500 for 8th class and Rs 750 for class 5. The PSEB had listed January 8 as the last date for registration.
However, after criticism from all corners, Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), on Thursday, was said to have been contemplating taking back the order.
Talking to Tribune, Dr Yograj Sharma, chairman, PSEB, said that it was the negligence of government school teachers who didn’t complete the registration process in time. “Almost 44 days were given to them for the registration. We didn’t ask for any fees for registration. However, we have now decided to extend the date until February 19.”
PSEB Chairman further said that they would find a way, after a meeting of board officials, to refund the fees already submitted by the students.
Officials said students were not at fault as it was the duty of the teachers to complete the registration process in time. As many as 1200 schools across Punjab couldn’t complete the registration process in time.
The state education department, considering the late fees a financial burden on students, had written a letter to the board Chairman on February 6 urging him to remit the late fees.
Meantime, terming it a constitutional impropriety, teacher unions have called it a violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The teacher union claimed that when registration was free then “how could PSEB ask for late fees?”
Vikram Dev, state president, Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), said, “In the wake of the pandemic, government schools were not regularly held. Therefore, many school teachers could not fill the registration form for board examinations on time. We strongly demand that PSEB should not put any financial burden on students.”
PSEB considers rolling back order slapping hundreds of students with late fees
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