Gujarat Self financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017

{
    "id": 16623,
    "slug": "gujarat-self-financed-schools-regulation-of-fees-act-2017",
    "title": "Gujarat Self financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017",
    "short_title": "Gujarat Self financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017",
    "act_number": "(Gujarat Act No. 20 of 2017)",
    "act_year": 2017,
    "act_type": "STATE",
    "location": "Gujarat",
    "law_status": "unknown",
    "enactment_date": null,
    "description": "Gujarat Self financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017",
    "preamble": "",
    "section_label": "Section",
    "sections": [
        {
            "number": "1",
            "title": "1. Short title, extent and commencement.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 0
        },
        {
            "number": "2",
            "title": "2. Definitions.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(a) \"academic year\" means the year specified by the Government or, as the ease may be, by any Board Or Council to which respective school is affiliated;\n(b) \"an aided school\" means any pre-primary school, primary school, upper primary school, secondary school, or higher secondary school, established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons and recognized or approved by the competent authority tinder any law for the time being in force, which receives airy financial grant or assistance from the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority:\n(c) \"educational district\" means an educational district, as may be specified by the State Government in the Official Gazette ;\n(d) \"elementary education\" means the education from First Class to Eighth Class;\n(e) \"employee\" means a teacher and includes every other employee working in a recognized school;\n(f) \"existing school\" means a recognized self financed school which is in existence at the commencement of this Act;\n(g) \"Fee or Fee Structure\" means any amount, by whatever name called, collected, directly or indirectly, by a school for admission of a student to any Standard or course of study and includes,-\n(i) Tuition fee;\n(ii) Term fee, which shall not exceed one month tuition fee per term;\n(iii) Library fee and deposit;\n(iv) Laboratory fee and deposit;\n(v) Gymkhana fee;\n(vi) Caution money;\n(vii) Examination fee;\n(viii) Admission fee, which shall not exceed one month tuition fee;\n(ix) Yoga and Physical Education fee;\n(x) any other fee as determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee;\n(h) \"Fee Regulatory Committee\" means a committee constituted under section 3:\n(i) \"Fee Revision Committee\" means a committee constituted under section 12;\n(j) \"Government\" means the State Government;\n(k) \"Government school\" means a school established, owned or maintained by the Government or a local authority;\n(l) \"Higher Secondary Education\" shall have the same meaning as defined pi clause (hh) of section 2 of the Gujarat Secondary and i Uglier Secondary Education Act, 1972,(Guj. 18 of 1973.);\n(m) \"local authority\" means,-\n(i) a Municipal Corporation constituted tinder the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, (Bom. LIX of 1949.);\n(ii) a Municipality constituted under the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963,(Guj 34 of 1964.);\n(iii) a Panchayat constituted under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993,(Guj. 18 of 1993.);\n(n) \"Management\" means;-\n(i) in the ease of a school managed by the Government, the Government;\n(ii) in the case of school managed by any local authority, the respective local authority;\n(iii) in any other case, managing committee or tire governing body by whatever name called, of school to which the affairs of the school arc entrusted and, a person, by whatever name or designation called, where such affairs are entrusted to such person and shall also include trust Or company associated with the school in any manner whatsoever;\n(o) \"minority educational institution\" means tire Government approved institution established and administered by minority having right to do so under clause (1) of article 30 of the Constitution of India;\n(p) \"prescribed\" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;\n(q) \"pre-primary school\" means a Nursery, Junior Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten Level or any school imparting education up to pre-primary school level for children having age of 3 to 6 years, by whatever name called and of any medium attached in the prescribed manner to the school,\n(r) \"profiteering\" means any amount accepted in cash or kind, directly or indirectly which is in excess of the fee fixed or approved as per the provisions of this Act and shall include profit earned from school by trust or company associated with the school in any manner whatsoever;\n(s) \"public examination\" means an examination conducted by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board or Centra) Board of Secondary Education or Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations or any other Board recognized by the Government;\n(t) \"recognized school\" means a school recognized by the competent Educational Authority of the State or the Central Government;\n(u) \"self financed school\" means any pre-primary school, primary school, upper primary school, secondary school or higher secondary school, established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons including trusts and companies and recognized or approved by the competent authority under any law for the time being in force holding affiliation of international or Central or Stale Boards operating in the State of Gujarat, which are not receiving any financial grants or assistance from the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority, but does not include a school giving, providing or imparting religions instruction alone;\n(v) \"school\" includes a pre-primary, primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary school and also includes any other institution which imparts education or training below (he degree level, but does not include an institution which exclusively imparts technical education;\n(w) \"school property\" means all movable and immovable property belonging to, or in the possession of, the school and all other rights and interests in, or arising out of, such property, and includes land, building and its appurtenances, playgrounds, hostels, furniture, books, apparatus, maps, equipments, utensils, cash, reserve funds, investments and bank balances;\n(x) \"secondary education\" shall have meaning as doll nod by clause (u) of section 2 of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Act, 1972,(18 of 1973).\nChapter II\nConstitution of Committee, Determination of fee and Prohibition of Collection of Excess fee",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": true,
            "sort_order": 1
        },
        {
            "number": "3",
            "title": "3. Constitution of fee Regulatory Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(a) retired District and Sessions Judge or a person who had been a member of Ail India Service, having retired from a post not below the rank of Principal Secretary to Government or a person who had been a member of Indian Police Service, having retired from a post not below the rank of Additional Director General of Police, to be nominated by the Government, who shall be the Chairperson of the Committee;\n(b) the Chartered Accountant, to be nominated by the Government;\n(e) One Civil Engineer / Government approved valuer, to be nominated by the Government;\n(d) one representative from the self financed school management of the respective zone, to be nominated by the Government;\n(e) one Academician of repute, to be nominated by the Government.",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 2
        },
        {
            "number": "4",
            "title": "4. Jurisdiction and headquarters of Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 3
        },
        {
            "number": "5",
            "title": "5. Vacancies, etc. not to invalidate proceedings of the committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 4
        },
        {
            "number": "6",
            "title": "6. Procedure to be regulated by the Fee Regulatory Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 5
        },
        {
            "number": "7",
            "title": "7. Disqualifications of members of Fee Regulatory Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(i) has been adjudged an insolvent;\n(ii) has in the opinion of the State Government, become physically Or mentally incapable of acting as a member;\n(iii) has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude, or\n(iv) has been guilty of proven misbehaviour:",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 6
        },
        {
            "number": "8",
            "title": "8. Powers and Functions of the Fee Regulatory Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(a) require each self financed school to place before the Committee, the proposed fee structure of such school alongwith all relevant documents and books of accounts for scrutiny before such date as may be specified by the Committee;\n(b) verify whether the fee proposed by the self financed school is justified and whether it amounts to profiteering or charging of exorbitant fee;\n(c) approve the existing fee structure or determine the fee which can be charged by the self financed school;\n(d) verify whether the fee collected by the self financed school, Operating within the territory of the State of Gujarat, is recognised by the competent Stale Educational Authority or affiliated to the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board / Central Board of Secondary Education/Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations / IB board or any other board, as the case may be and the school imparts instruction prescribed by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board or any other Board, as referred to above;\n(e) hear complaints or initiate suo moto hearing with regard to collection of excess fee by a self financed school, as referred to above in Clause (d);\n(f) regulate the fees charged by the school and penal action as per the provisions of this Act;\n(g) report the matter to the respective competent Educational Authority that the school has collected excess fee and it has not complied With the provisions of the respective applicable Acts and rules made thereunder of the concerned Board for appropriate action.\n(i) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness examining him on oath;\n(ii) requiring the discovery and production of any document;\n(lii) receiving evidence on affidavit; and\n(iv) issuing commission for examination of witnesses for local inspection,\n(b) All inquiries and revisions under this Act shall he deemed to be the judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228,(XLV of 1860.) of the Indian Penal Code.",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 7
        },
        {
            "number": "9",
            "title": "9. Exemption from appearance before Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 8
        },
        {
            "number": "10",
            "title": "10. Factors for determination of fee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(i) location of the self financed school i.e. village, town, or city in which the school is situated;\n(ii) investment incurred to setup the school;\n(iii) infrastructure made available to the students for the qualitative education, facilities provided us mentioned in the prospectus or website of the school;\n(iv) expenditure on administration, maintenance of services and utilities of the school:\n(v) excess fund generated from Non-Resident Indians, as a part of charity by the management and contribution by the Government for providing free-ship in fee or for other items under various Government schemes given to the school for the students.\n(vi) students strength in the self financed school;\n(vii) classes of study and courses of study offered by the school;\n(viii) qualification of leaching, and non-leaching stall (as per the relevant norms) their salary components, and reasonable amount for yearly salary increments;\n(ix) Expenditure incurred on the students against total income of the school which shall include profit earned from school by the trust or company associated with such school;\n(x) reasonable revenue surplus for the purpose of development, education and expansion of the school;\n(xi) any other factors which may be prescribed by the Government from time to time.",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 9
        },
        {
            "number": "11",
            "title": "11. Prohibition of collection of excess fee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 10
        },
        {
            "number": "12",
            "title": "12. Fee Revision Committee.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(i) retired Judge of the High Court, to be nominated by the Government shall be the Chairperson of the Committee;\n(ii) the Secretary to the Government of Gujarat, Education Department (Primary and Secondary);\n(iii) the Secretary to the Government of Gujarat, Finance Department, or his nominee not below the rank of the Deputy Secretary;\n(iv) the Secretary, Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board or, as the ease may be, the Director, Primary Education, ex-officio , who shall be the Member-Secretary;\n(v) one representative from the self financed school management to be nominated by the Government;\n(vi) the Chartered Accountant, to be nominated by the Government.\nChapter III\nRegulation of Accounts and Maintenance of Records",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 11
        },
        {
            "number": "13",
            "title": "13. Regulation of accounts and maintenance of records.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "Chapter IV\nContraventions and Penalties",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 12
        },
        {
            "number": "14",
            "title": "14. Contraventions.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(a) to pay fine which shall be upto five lakh rupees to the Fee Regulatory Commit tee,for the first contravention;\n(b) to pay tine which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees to the Fee Regulatory Committee for the second contravention; and\n(c) for cancellation or withdrawal of registration / affiliation /No Objection Certificate of the school, on third and subsequent contravention by the concerned authority on the recommendation of the Fee Regulatory Committee.",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 13
        },
        {
            "number": "15",
            "title": "15. Bar of jurisdiction of civil court.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "Chapter V\nMiscellaneous",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 14
        },
        {
            "number": "16",
            "title": "16. Powers of State Government to give directions.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 15
        },
        {
            "number": "17",
            "title": "17. Operation of other laws.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 16
        },
        {
            "number": "18",
            "title": "18. Protection of action taken in good faith.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 17
        },
        {
            "number": "19",
            "title": "19. Members of Committee officers and employees to be public servant.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 18
        },
        {
            "number": "20",
            "title": "20. Power to make rules.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "(a) the honorarium and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of members of the Fee Regulatory Committee under sub-section (3) of section 3;\n(b) the fee to be levied by the self financed schools under sub-section (1)of section 9;\n(c) the other factors under which the Fee Regulatory Committee shall determine the fees leviable by the self financed school under clause (xi) of sub-section (1) of section 10;\n(d) to regulate the maintenance of accounts by the self financed schools under sub-section (1) of sect ion 13;\n(e) for maintenance of records of accounts of the Fee Regulatory Committee under sub-section (2) of section 13.",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 19
        },
        {
            "number": "21",
            "title": "21. Power to remove difficult.",
            "chapter": null,
            "content": "",
            "footnote": "",
            "is_definition": false,
            "sort_order": 20
        }
    ],
    "metadata": {
        "Act ID": "guj242",
        "Act Number": "(Gujarat Act No. 20 of 2017)",
        "Enactment Date": "",
        "Act Year": "2017",
        "Short Title": "Gujarat Self financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017",
        "Type": "STATE",
        "Location": "Gujarat"
    },
    "updated_at": "2026-09-29 21:55:19"
}