(1) No non-government educational institution shall collect any fee in excess of the fee fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee for admission of students to any standard or course of study in that institution.
(2) No excess fee shall be collected by any person either for himself or on behalf of such non-government educational institution or on behalf of the management of such non-government educational institution.
(3) No institution itself or on its behalf shall collect any donation or capitation fee under any name whatsoever, or receive any deposit under any head from the parents to the school management, school trust, company, or any trustee or member of the school. If any parents or guardian of a student has paid voluntarily any above referred amount, he shall inform the concerned Fee Regulatory Committee, the details of such payment on affidavit. Such nondisclosure shall amount to abetment of the profiteering committed by the school management.
(4) The institution shall open and operate separate and only one Bank account for individual non-government educational institution. The parents shall make payments of prescribed fees directly into the 9 concerned school bank account. The acknowledgement of receipt of the total collected fee from the parents shall be given in the form of counterfoil from bank and concerned school, as the case may be.
Fee Revision Committee.
13.
(1) The Government shall constitute a committee for the purpose of revision against the order passed by the Fee Regulatory Committee.
The headquarter of the Fee Revision Committee shall be at Guwahati or at such other place, as may be decided by the Chairperson of the Committee.
(2) The Fee Revision Committee shall consist of the following members, namely:-
(i) A retired Judge of the High Court, to be nominated by the Government shall be the Chairperson of the Committee;
(ii) The senior most Secretary to the Government of Assam, Secondary Education Department or Elementary Education Department;
(iii) The Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam , Finance Department, or his nominee not below the rank of the Deputy Secretary;
(iv) The Director of Secondary Education, ex-officio, who shall be the Member-Secretary;
(v) One representative from the non-government educational institution Management to be nominated by the Government;
(vi) One Chartered Accountant, to be nominated by the Government.
(3) A person or any institution aggrieved by the order of the Fee Regulatory Committee made under section 11 may file revision application before the Fee Revision Committee within a period of twenty-one days from the date of receipt of such order:
Provided that if the Fee Revision Committee is satisfied that such institution was prevented for filing a revision application within prescribed time-limit for sufficient cause, it may condone the delay and shall allow the revision application but not later than three months.
CHAPTER III REGULATION OF ACCOUNTS AND MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS Regulation of Accounts and Maintenance of Records.
14.
(1) The Government shall regulate the maintenance of accounts by the non-government educational institutions in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The non-government educational institution shall maintain such records in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Every non-government educational institution shall maintain accounts for different kinds of transactions like the fees collected, the grants received, financial assistance received including funds from NRIs, payments of salary of staff, purchase of machinery and 10 equipments, furniture, laboratory articles, sports equipments, library books, stationary and other expenditure incurred towards payments to the agencies companies hired or engaged by the school for different kind of services and these accounts shall be audited by the Chartered Accountant.
(4) Every non-government educational institution shall keep the accounts and the records within the premises of the educational institution and shall make them available at all reasonable times for inspection by the Fee Regulatory Committee or its authorized officer.
(5) The accounts maintained by the non-government educational institution together with all vouchers relating to various items of receipts and expenditures shall be preserved by the schools for a period of at least seven years.
CHAPTER IV CONTRAVENTlONS AND PENALTIES Contravention and penalties.
15.
(1) For contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, the school management shall, in addition to refund of twice the amount of fee to the parents or guardians or to the person who has made the payment, be liable;
(a) to pay fine which shall be upto five lakh rupees to the Government for the first contravention;
(b) to pay fine which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees to the Government for the second contravention; and
(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.
(2) The amount of fine and the amount of refund shall be paid within fifteen days from the receipt of the order, failing which fine of one percent of the total payable amount shall be levied each day till the refund of the total amount and fine is paid. However, if the school management fails to make the payment of fine and refund within three months, then the entire unpaid amount shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue.
Bar jurisdiction of civil court.
16.
No Civil Court shall have the jurisdiction to deal with or decide any question which the Fee Regulatory Committee or, as the case may be the Fee Revision Committee is empowered to deal with or decide with by or under this Act and no injunction shall be granted by any civil court in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act.
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CHAPTER V MISCELLANEOUS Power of State Government to give directions.
17.
The State Government may from time to time, issue general or special directions consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder, as in its opinion are necessary or expedient for carrying out the purposes of this Act or for giving effect to any of the provisions contained therein or in any rules or orders made thereunder and the management of the non-government educational institution shall be bound by such directions.
Operation of other laws.
18.
Save as otherwise provided in this Act the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of any other law for the time being in force.
Protection of action taken in good faith.
19.
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall be instituted against the Fee Regulatory Committee and Fee Revision Committee or the members thereof, Government or any officer, authority or person empowered to exercise the powers or perform the functions by or under this Act for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules made thereunder.
Members of Committee, officers and employees to be public servant.
20. All the members of the Fee Regulatory Committee or the Fee Revision Committee, as the case may be, and the officers and employees while acting or purporting to act in pursuance of the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder, be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the lndian Penal Code, 1860.
Act No 45 of 1860 Power to remove difficulties.
21.
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State Government may, by general or special order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as it appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of removing the difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of the period of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall be laid, as soon as may be, after it is made, before the State Legislature.
Power to make rules.
22.
(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-
(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;
(b) the fee to be levied by the non-government educational institution under sub- section (1) of section 10;
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(c) the other factors under which the Fee Regulatory Committee shall determine the fees leviable by the non-government educational institution under clause (X) of sub-section (1) of section 11;
(d) to regulate the maintenance of accounts by the non-government educational institution under sub-section (1) of section 14;
(e) for maintenance of records of accounts of the Fee Regulatory Committee under sub-section (2) of section 14.
(3) All rules made by the State Government under this Act shall, as soon as may be after they are made, be laid before the Assam Legislative Assembly. while it is in session, for a total period of not less than fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and shall, unless some later date is appointed, take effect from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette subject to such modifications or annulments as the Assam legislative Assembly may, during the said period agree to make, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
S. M. BUZAR BARUAH, Commissioner & Secretary to the Government of Assam, Legislative Department, Dispur, Guwahati-6.