Telangana private schools must disclose fees publicly or face action

Hyderabad: Telangana’s School Education Department has put private unaided schools on notice, ordering them to make their 2026-27 fee structures public or risk losing recognition ahead of the new academic year.

In a directive issued this week, the department instructed schools to display class-wise fee details on notice boards, school websites and a dedicated section of the department’s portal. Officials said schools must also upload the documents used to fix those fees, including records showing sign-off by governing body members, as required under Rules 16 and 18 of GO Ms No 1, Education (PS 2), dated January 1, 1994.

School Education Director Dr E Naveen Nicolas directed Regional Joint Directors of School Education and District Educational Officers to act swiftly against non-compliant institutions. Schools that fail to publish their fee structure will face show-cause notices, and officials have been told to invoke Rule 11 of the same GO, which allows for withdrawal of recognition or permission.

Apart from the disclosure, schools have also been directed to submit annual administration reports, along with statements of accounts audited and certified by a chartered accountant, for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, by July 30. Institutions that miss this deadline will face the same show-cause process.

The department’s move comes amid persistent complaints from parents about steep, unexplained fee hikes by private and corporate schools across the state. By requiring schools to publish both the fees and the paperwork behind them, officials say the aim is to let parents compare charges across institutions and verify that increases have been properly sanctioned by each school’s governing body before the new session begins.