CBSE SC&ST Students In Poll-Bound Delhi Exempted From Exam Fee Hike

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided against charging SC & ST students of CBSE schools in Delhi the revised exam fee hike, which was increased by 24 times.

# The decision followed a direction from the HRD Ministry, CBSE secretary Anurag Tripathi was quoted as saying by news wire PTI.

# He said while SC and ST will continue to pay Rs 50, the rest of the amount will be reimbursed from the Delhi government. The revised exam fee hike stands at Rs 1200.

# “On directions of the HRD Ministry, the board has decided to restore the practice of charging only Rs. 50 from schools for SC and ST candidates of Delhi government schools for 10th and 12th Board examinations. For the payment of difference of increased fees per candidate, the board will take up the reimbursement with the state government once the number of candidates is finalised,” Tripathi said.

# This will not be the first time the Delhi Government will be asked to reimburse the fee hike because it has been subsidising the fee of SC and ST students for many years now under a special arrangement.

# Delhi is going to the polls in the coming six months.

# Defending its move to increase the fee, CBSE had said it was left with no alternatives as it was facing a deficit of Rs 200 crore to conduct the upcoming board examinations.

# The deficit was on account of the Government’s decision to set up the National Testing Agency and giving it the mandate of holding competitive tests as JEE and NEET. CBSE used to hold these tests until a couple of years back.

# According to PTI, CBSE spends Rs 500 crore annually to conduct the exams for Class X and XII.

# The Board on Monday had issued a statement saying it is a self-finance body and the board works on profit and no loss basis.

# The fee hike has been met with country-wide protest. The ultras too have demanded a rollback of the decision. At the end of the first day of the standing committee meeting of the Bihar unit, The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation in a statement alleged that the move was a clear indication of the Centre’s intention to privatise education and employment.