Parents Cry Foul over DBMS Principal’s Place in Jamshedpur Fee Panel

Shiksha Satyagrah Group Calls Appointment a Conflict of Interest, Seeks Probe

Key Points:

• DBMS principal’s inclusion in district fee panel draws sharp opposition from parents
• School had challenged Jharkhand fee law in court from 2019 to 2024
• Parents demand fee audit of private schools from 2019 to 2026

JAMSHEDPUR — A controversy has erupted over the appointment of a principal from DBMS School as a member of the district-level school fee determination committee in East Singhbhum.

Parents and representatives of the “Shiksha Satyagrah” group have raised strong objections to the nomination. They have described the move as a case of conflict of interest.

The parents allege that the DBMS school management had challenged the Jharkhand Education Tribunal Amendment Act 2017 in the High Court in 2019. Moreover, the petition was kept pending until 2024 before being eventually withdrawn. Including a representative of that very institution on the district fee panel, the protesters argued, goes against the principles of natural justice.

Complainant Ankit Anand submitted a legal representation to the Deputy Commissioner, who chairs the committee, as well as to the District Education Superintendent. A press conference was also held on Tuesday evening outside Little Flower School in Telco to formally register opposition to the DBMS principal’s nomination.

A copy of the High Court’s final order was presented at the press conference. “Why give responsibility to those who opposed the law?” asked a protester, voicing the group’s core concern. Those present argued that institutions which had themselves resisted or legally challenged the fee regulations should have no place on a regulatory panel.

The Shiksha Satyagrah members demanded that only representatives of schools that have complied with government rules be included in the fee committee. In addition, they called for a comprehensive probe into fee hikes by private schools between 2019 and 2026. Under applicable rules, fees cannot be raised by more than 10 percent over a two-year period. However, they alleged that several schools have violated this cap.

The parents also demanded the appointment of an independent chartered accountant at the district level to audit the finances of private schools over the past 10 years.

On the question of the committee’s composition, the group called for a clear standard operating procedure. Their demands included: selection of parent members through a public application process, full transparency in the process, and exclusion of persons with any conflict of interest from the education panel.

Veer Kumar Singh, Sagar Rai, Appu Tiwari, Ankit Anand, Harsh Aggarwal, Hritik Choubey, Prakash Thakur, and Ravish Singh were among those present at the Jamshedpur press conference. A reliable source present at the event said, “Institutions that spent years in court opposing this law cannot be trusted to implement it fairly.”

The protesters also pointed out that more than 25 private schools in the district had been part of legal proceedings against the fee law since 2019. They insisted that the rule of law must prevail in the education system at all costs. A legal representation regarding the matter has been submitted and the issue remains unresolved pending a response from the district authorities.