Kavitha Demands Fee Regulation Law, Slams Private Schools Over ‘Exploitation

Kalvakuntla Kavitha, president of Telangana Jagruthi, expressed concern over what she termed “exploitation of parents by private and corporate schools in the name of fee hikes” in the state. Addressing a press conference at the Jagruthi office on Friday, she lashed out at the state government over the prevailing situation in the education sector.

Kavitha alleged that school managements were increasing fees by 30 to 40 per cent at one go , placing an unbearable burden on parents. She demanded that the government immediately introduce a ‘fee regulation law’ , and convene a special Assembly session to pass the bill. She also suggested that annual fee hikes should be capped at 8 per cent .

“ If a fee of ₹1 lakh is increased by ₹30,000, how will middle-class families survive? Salaries of parents do not increase in proportion to fee hikes, do they? ” she questioned.

Highlighting the structure of the education sector in Telangana, Kavitha said the state has 39,641 schools with 62 lakh students . Of these, 24 lakh students study in government schools , while 38 lakh are enrolled in private institutions , indicating that the government has lost regulatory control over the sector. She further pointed out that around 5 lakh students are studying in 1,200 corporate schools such as Narayana and Chaitanya , where she alleged a purely commercial approach dominates.

She demanded raids on corporate educational institutions like Narayana and Chaitanya, citing concerns over food safety, non-payment of PF to teachers, and low salaries . She warned that centralised cooking systems could pose a major risk, as any food contamination incident could affect thousands of students at once . She also criticised schools for charging ₹15,000 for books worth ₹2,000 .

On pending dues and employment issues, Kavitha stated that the government has ₹11,000 crore in pending fee reimbursement dues , leading colleges to withhold students’ certificates . She added that ₹212 crore in dues have accumulated due to non-payment of ₹42,000 fee reimbursement meant for SC and ST students .

She further alleged that institutions from northern India, such as Allen and Physics Wallah, are not providing employment opportunities to locals , and demanded that permissions be cancelled for schools that fail to employ Telangana residents .

Questioning the government, she said that Revanth Reddy, who had earlier criticised the previous BRS government for failing to regulate fees, has not taken action even after three years in power . She also accused the Chief Minister of encouraging private sector exploitation by attending corporate hospital inaugurations .

Kavitha warned that the government must immediately respond and constitute a fee regulation committee , failing which Telangana Jagruthi would launch large-scale protests in front of schools .