Hans News Service ANANTAPUR

Termingthe unchecked fee hikes by private and corporate educational institutions a form of financial exploitation, the Andhra Pradesh Student Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Wednesday urged the State Government to immediately set up a Fee Regulation Committee to protect parents. Addressing reporters at a press conference at the JAC district office in Ananta Nagar, Student JAC District President Amar Yadav expressed deep concern over the aggressive commercialization of education.

He highlighted that several corporate schools are demanding an astronomical ₹1 lakh to ₹1.5 lakh annually for fresh first-grade admissions alone, hiding the hikes under specialized programs, multi-media classrooms, and advanced curriculum tags. “Education cannot be allowed to turn into a pure commercial business. The state must step in to ensure that schooling remains affordable and equitable across all socio-economic strata,” Yadav said. He strongly advocated for Andhra Pradesh to introduce a dedicated, high-power Fee Regulation Committee modeled after the strict regulatory framework currently running in neighboring Tamil Nadu to oversee private school fee structures and penalize institutional irregularities. The student leader warned that the absence of structured state oversight has given corporate managements a free hand to pressure families. He demanded an immediate audit of non-transparent fee collections across the district. District JAC Secretary Velugu Prashanth, along with committee members Ravi, Govind, and Yashwanth, were present at the briefing.