In
exercise of the powers conferred by section 22 of the The Assam Non-Government
Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2018, the Governor of Assam
is hereby pleased to make the following rules, namely:- (1) These rules may be called the The Assam Non-Government Educational
Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Rules, 2020. (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the
Official Gazette. (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "Act" means the The Assam Non Government Educational
Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2018 (Assam Act No.: XV of 2018); (b) "commencement" means the date on which these rules come into
force; (c) "Form" means the form appended to these rules; (d) "relative" means the father, mother, grand father, grand
mother, father in-law, mother in-law, grand father in-law, grand mother in-law,
spouse, sons, daughters, son in-law and daughter-in law; (e) Words and expressions used in these rules and not defined hereinabove
but defined in the Act, shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to
them in the Act. (1) The Government shall appoint the Chairperson and Members of the Fee
Regulatory Committee and Fee Revision Committee in accordance with the
provisions of section 3 and section 13 of the Act. (2) A person who has been nominated as a Chairperson or a Member of such
Committees shall disclose his interests, if any, with affairs of any self
financed school before assuming the office. Such interest, if in conflict with
the functioning of such Committees shall lead to cancellation of his
nomination. (3) (i) A person who has been nominated as a Chairperson or a Member of such
Committees shall maintain utmost confidentiality and secrecy about the
deliberations and discussions having taken place in the meetings and decisions
taken by the Committees, Disclosure of any such matters or decisions in any
manner whatsoever shall make him liable to be removed from such Committees. (ii) The Chairperson or a
Member so removed shall not be eligible for re-appointment. (4) No person who is associated in any manner with the affairs of the
Management of any nongovernmental educational institution shall be eligible for
being a Member of aforesaid Committees except the Member who is nominated by
the Government under clause (e) of sub-section (4) of section 3 and under
clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 13 of the Act, respectively. (1) The honorarium and other allowances payable and facilities to be
provided to the Chairperson and Members other than the ex- officio members of
the Fee Regulatory Committees and Fee Revision Committee shall be such as may
be fixed and specified by the State Government by a general or special order
issued in that behalf from time to time. (2) The term of the Chairperson and Members shall be three years from the
date of their assuming the office. (3) In case of vacancy of the office of the Chairperson or any Member for
any reason whatsoever, the same shall be filled up in accordance with the
provisions of the Act. In such a case, the term of office of such Chairperson
or Member, as the case may be, shall be for remainder of the term of the
Chairperson or a Member concerned, in whose place he has been appointed. (4) After completion of original term of three years as Chairperson or
Member, as the case may be, the same person may be re-appointed as the
Chairperson or Member, as the case may be, for another term of three years,
subject to his/her satisfactory performance during the previous term, provided
the person has not completed the age of 65 years on the date of his/her
reappointment: Provided also that no person
shall be re-appointed more than one term as Chairperson or member as the case
may be. (5) The Chairperson or Members may resign from the office by giving one
month's notice to the State Government and the resignation shall be effective
on the date of acceptance of the same by the State Government. The vacancy
arisen on account of the resignation shall be filled in as early as possible
from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. (1) The Chairperson shall preside over the meetings of the Fee Regulatory
Committee. The Committee may adopt its own procedure for transaction of
business as it deems fit. (2) The date, time and venue of the meeting of the Committee shall be
decided by the Chairperson and the same shall be communicated to the members of
the Committee by the Co-ordinator of the Committee. (3) The notice in FORM I, along with the agenda items of the meeting shall
be given to the each member of the Committee at least 7 clear days in advance by
registered post acknowledgement or any other mode including electronic mode as
may be decided by the Committee. The acknowledgement shall be preserved for one
year. (4) Emergency meeting may be called for by the Chairperson of the Fee
Regulatory Committee with a short notice of 24 hours. (5) The quorum at the meeting of the Committee shall be at least two- third
Members of the total strength of the Committee. If there is no quorum at the
meeting, the same shall be adjourned for half an hour. Thereafter the meeting
shall be held for the transaction of its business. (6) The Director Secondary Education, Assam, shall be the Co-ordinator of
the Committee who shall act as per the directions of the Chairperson and shall
prepare proceedings of the meeting and circulate the same to all the Members
within seven days from the date of meeting. (1) The office of the Committee shall be located in the premises of the
Board Of Secondary Education, Assam, Bamunimaidam, Guwahati -781021. (2) The following shall be the officers and staff of the committee:- (a) Administrative officer to be appointed from retired AES or ACS officers,
who has not completed the age of sixty two years on the date of appointment,
maximum for a period of three years. His remuneration shall not be more than
Last pay drawn minus Pension received. (b) One post of Financial Analyst. The minimum qualification of the
incumbent must be a MBA in Finance from a recognized University or a Chartered
Accountant. (c) One post of Assistant Financial Analyst cum Accountant. The minimum
qualification must be M.Com or Intermediate passed of the Chartered Accountant
course. (d) One post of Private Assistant to Chairperson. The minimum educational
qualification must be Graduate with Diploma in computer from a Government
recognized Institute. (e) One post of Grade IV . Minimum Qualification should be HSLC passed with
knowledge of Computer. (f) The Committee may create additional posts required if any, with the
approval of Government. (3) All official correspondence relating to administrative nature shall be
issued under the signature of the Administrative officer. (1) The Source of Finance for the Committee shall be,- (a) grants- in-aid from the Government to the Committee as per requirement, (b) the process fee or any other fee received from the non-government
educational institutions. (2) A Bank account has to be opened in the name of the Committee to be
operated jointly by the Chairman of the Committee and Administrative Officer. (1) The non-government educational institution shall prepare and submit to
the Fee Regulatory Committee, a proposal in FORM II, for fixation of fee or fee
structure, containing the particulars specified in it, for its consideration
and approval not later than the 31st October of the year of the proposal. The
proposal shall also contain the following matters, namely:- (i) proposal shall be for fixation of fee or fee structure for one year or
maximum for next three years at a time; (ii) audited accounts of the preceding two financial years; (iii) provisional accounts from 1st April to 31st August of the year in which
proposal is made along with a certificate of Chartered Accountant containing
the income and expenditure specifying under the different heads; (iv) proposed budget estimates in respect of the year of proposal with the
relevant record and evidence; and (v) expenditure incurred towards the educational related services rendered
to the students by the affiliated/holding or subsidiary companies having same
or related trustees and directors, directly or indirectly. (2) In the event of non-submission of proposal within prescribed time limit
or submission of incomplete details for fixation of fee, the Fee Regulatory
Committee shall suo moto determine the fee structure which shall be binding on
such school. The fees structure as determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee
suo moto shall be applicable for the next three academic years. (3) The non-government educational institution shall pay such amount towards
the process fee, as may be determined by the State Government from time to
time, alongwith the proposal. (4) The non-government educational institution shall be bound to supply any
further information or statements which may be required by the Fee Regulatory
Committee within the time limit specified by the Committee. The Fee Regulatory Committee
shall adopt following procedure for determining fee or fee structure or fee
commensurate with the facilities provided by the non-governmental schools,
namely:- (1) on issue of notice/advertisement by the Fee Regulatory Committee, the
non-government educational institution shall submit to the Fee Regulatory
Committee a proposal for fixation of fees or fee structure in FORM - II along
with the following information, namely:- (i) audited accounts for the last two financial years showing the income and
expenditure and budgeted estimate in respect of the year of proposal along with
a certificate of Chartered Accountant showing the income and expenditure; (ii) fee collected from the students for the previous academic year and also
fee collected for the academic year current year; (iii) detailed justification for proposed fee or fee structure shall be given
along with necessary accounts and statements relating to income and expenditure
and such other matters as may be required by the Fee Regulatory Committee; (iv) an undertaking to the effect that if the non-government educational
institution has collected the fee at the rates of previous academic year and
such fee being in excess of the fees fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee, the
difference of the fee collected and fee structure determined by the Fee
Regulatory Committee, shall be adjusted in the remaining quarters of the
academic year. In case annual fee is taken in advance, excess fee shall be
refunded within thirty days. (v) On receiving the proposal from the non-government educational
institution in FORM II, the Fee Regulatory Committee shall scrutinise the
proposal in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules made there
under. (vi) The Committee may call for any further information or statements as are
necessary for scrutiny of the proposed fee or fee structure from the
non-government educational Institutions within the specified time limit and may
offer hearing to the concerned school. (vii) The Committee may authorise a sub committee of 3 (Three) members for spot
verification of documents and school buildings, etc. (2) The Committee shall not ordinarily grant more than three adjournments
during the course of proceedings. (3) After considering all the relevant factors as provided in the Act and
the rules, the Fee Regulatory Committee shall take a decision on such proposal
within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the proposal. (4) The Fee Regulatory Committee shall determine the total fees under a
single head which may be levied or collected. The order in FORM III,
determining the total fees shall be operative for a period of three years. (5) In the event of contravention of the Act or the rules, the Fee
Regulatory Committee shall pass an order for refund and imposing of Penalty in
accordance with the provision contained under section 15 of the Act. (6) The fee determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee for Pre-Primary
Schools, Primary Schools, Secondary, Higher/Senior Secondary Schools and
colleges imparting education in class XI and XII shall be displayed by every
such non-government educational institution on its notice board in Assamese and
English as also on its official website. (7) No non-government educational institution shall collect fee amounting to
more than one quarter from any student at a time. However the non-government
educational institution desires to collect annual fee at a time, than a rebate
of 5 Percent on the total fees shall be given. Otherwise it shall be construed
as collection of capitation fee and such institution shall be liable to be
proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of the Act. (8) The order determining the fee by the Fee Regulatory Committee shall be
binding on the non-government educational institution till the revision
application is finally decided by the Fee Revision Committee. In the event of
increase in fees by the Fee Revision Committee, the non-government educational
institution shall be at liberty to collect the differential amount from the
student/parents in the next quarter. The powers and functions of
the Chairperson and the Fee Regulatory Committee amongst others shall be as
follows, namely:- (1) The Chairperson of the Fee Regulatory Committee,- (i) shall by an order authorise any officer or person for authentication of
such orders and such decisions of the Committee under sub-section (3) of
section 6 of the Act; (ii) may authorise any member of the Fee Regulatory Committee to visit any
school for verification; (iii) may authorise any officer for inspection of the accounts and records of
the nongovernmental school under sub-section (4) of section 13; (iv) shall monitor the strict implementation of the provisions of the Act and
the rules. (2) The Fee Regulatory Committee shall,- (i) make necessary documents available where the revision application is
made by the non-government educational institution to the Fee Revision
Committee; (ii) call for such other information or statements as are necessary for
determination of fee structure or require the presence of the authorised person
of the non-government educational institution. (3) The order of the Committee determining the total fee shall also contain
directions to refund the difference of fee within the specific time limit
mentioned in it, if required. The State Government may by notification
from time to time determine the process fee for submission of proposal for
fixation of fee or fee structure to the Fee Regulatory Committee, for filing
revision application before the Fee Regulatory Committee and for obtaining
Exemption Certificate from the Fee Regulatory Committee: Provided that until a
notification is issued under this rule, on and from the date of commencement of
these rules, the process fees in respect of the said activities shall be as
follows:- (i) For submission of proposal for fixation of fee or fee structure to the
Fee Regulatory Committee for first three years the process fee shall be Rs.
5000.00; (ii) For filing revision application before the Fee Revision Committee for
first three years the process fee shall be Rs. 10000.00; and (iii) For obtaining Exemption Certificate for first three years the process
fee shall be Rs. 1000.00 (1) The Fee Regulatory Committee may exempt such non-government educational
institution from determination of fee that charges the amount of fee lower than
the fee prescribed by the State Government by notification in the Official
Gazette. Such non- governmental school shall file an affidavit to that effect
in FORM IV. (2) The Exemption Certificate issued by the Fee Regulatory Committee has to
be displayed in a conspicuous place of the school. (3) If in the opinion of the Fee Regulatory Committee any non-government
educational institution charging amount of fee lower than the fee prescribed by
the State Government by notification in Official Gazette, has increased the fee
unreasonably, then, it shall be competent to call for such school's records for
fee regulation. (4) Exclusive pre-primary classes/play groups/creches not attached to any
school shall be exempted under section 10 of the Act. Explanation- For the purposes
of second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 10 and sub-rule (4), any tie
up, agreement, collaboration of any such pre-primary classes/play
groups/creches with any self financed school either directly or indirectly, or
operating under functional/financial or administrative control of the same
management or of the relatives or the pre-primary schools being run as
franchise or agency by the primary school shall be considered to be an
attachment with such school. (5) The non exempted non-government educational institution has to apply for
fixation of fees to Fee Regulatory Committee. Every non-government
educational institution shall maintain the accounts in the following manner, namely:- (1) (a) the non-government educational institution shall keep accounts for
different kinds of receipts and payments as per Generally Accepted Accounting
Principle (GAAP), such as fee collected, grants received from the Central/State
Government/local authority, donations and financial assistance received,
payment of salary and allowances to the teaching and non-teaching staff,
purchase of machinery, equipments, laboratory apparatus and consumables,
library books, stationery, computers software and other such expenditure
incurred for imparting educational activities such as building
construction/renovation/expansion of the school, etc.; (b) certificate relating to
Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) for salary of teaching and non-teaching staff; (c) expenditure incurred
towards the related trust or affiliated/holding/subsidiary company having same
trustees/directors/members or relatives for educational, management service or
house keeping services. (2) The non-government educational institution shall keep the registers,
accounts and records within its premises at all reasonable time for inspection
by the Fee Regulatory Committee or the authorised officer. (3) The accounts maintained by the non-government educational institution
together with all vouchers relating to various items or receipts and
expenditure shall be preserved by that school till the audit of accounts is
over and objection, if any, raised is settled or till a period of seven years,
whichever is later. (4) (a) The non-government educational institution shall maintain all types
of ledger accounts and the following registers and record for the purposes of
the Act and the rules either in physical format or Electronic format relating
to Academics, Teachers, Students, Co-curricular activities, Accounts as per
GAAP including General Register, Admission Register, Fee Receipt, Fee
Collection Registers, cash Book, Library Register, Staff Attendance Register,
Voucher File, Cheque Register, Service Books, Stock Register, Transfer
Certificate Books, Contingency Expenditure Register, Asset Register, Building
Rent Register, Minute Book School Management, Register for TDS Certificate
etc., minutes of all types of meetings Unified District Information System for
Education (U-DISE) form etc. (b) The Principal/Head Master/Managing
Trustee or authorised person of the non-government educational institution
shall be responsible for maintenance of accounts, records and registers as
mentioned under clause(a) of this sub-rule. (1) The non-government educational institution shall open and operate only
one bank account by the name "..................." for individual
registered school. The student/parents shall make payment of prescribed fees
directly to the aforesaid bank account of the concerned school. The
acknowledgement of receipt of the total fees collected from the student/parents
shall be given in the form of counter foil by the bank, or by the concerned
school, as the case may be. However in case of necessity more accounts can be
opened and all receipts has to credited to one single account for making all
types of payment. (2) All expenditure towards management, teaching and non-teaching staff,
house keeping, etc. shall be incurred from this single account. (3) The payments towards the salary and allowances of the teaching and non-
teaching staff members shall be credited directly to their bank account from
the aforesaid bank account. (1) Any non-government educational institution being aggrieved by the order
of the Fee Regulatory Committee under section 11 of the Act, may prefer a
revision application in FORM V, to the Fee Revision Committee, within a period
of twenty-one days from the date of receipt of such order alongwith payment of
process fees. (2) A statement stating the grounds for preferring the revision application
shall be submitted along with FORM V. (3) In case of delay in preferring the revision application, within
twenty-one days from the date of receipt of the orders, the applicant
non-government educational institution shall also file an application for
condonation of delay with the revision application. (4) The Fee Revision Committee may call for additional information from the
applicant, as it considers necessary for deciding the revision application. The
Fee Revision Committee shall call for the records of proceedings of the Fee
Regulatory Committee and after considering the same and giving a reasonable
opportunity of being heard to the applicant, may confirm, revise or cancel the
order against which the revision application is preferred. The decision of the
Fee Revision Committee shall be final and conclusive and shall be binding on
the non-government educational institution. (5) The Fee Revision Committee shall take decision on revision application
within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the said
application. (1) The Chairperson shall preside over the meetings of the Fee Revision
Committee. The Committee may adopt its own procedure for transaction of business
as it deems fit. (2) The date, time and venue of the meeting of the Committee shall be
decided by the Chairperson and the same shall be communicated to the members of
the Committee by the Member-Secretary of the Committee. (3) The notice in FORM VI alongwith the agenda items of the meetings shall
be given to the each Member of the Committee at least seven clear days in
advance by registered post acknowledgement or any other mode including
electronic mode as may be decided by the Committee. The acknowledgement shall
be preserved for the period of one year. (4) The emergency meeting may be called for by the Chairperson of the Fee
Revision Committee with a short notice of 24 hours. (5) The quorum at the meeting of the Committee shall be atleast two- third
members of the total strength of the Committee. If there is no quorum at the
meeting, the same shall be adjourned for half an hour. Thereafter the meeting
shall be held for the transaction of its business. (6) The Coordinator of the Committee shall prepare the proceedings of the
meeting and circulate the same to the all the members within seven days from
the date of meeting. (7) All official correspondence relating to administrative nature shall be
issued under the signature of the Administrative Officer of the Committee. The orders
and decisions of the Committee shall also be communicated by the coordinator or
Administrative Officer of the Committee. The Committee may authorise any Member
of the Committee to visit the school for verification and any officer for
inspection of accounts and records. The Fee Revision Committee
shall adopt following procedure for deciding the revision application preferred
by non-government educational institution in FORM V, namely:- (1) On receiving the revision application along with the requisite fee from
the non-government educational institution in the prescribed manner, the Fee
Revision Committee,- (i) shall call for the proceedings of the Fee Regulatory Committee; (ii) shall go through the proposal of the non-government educational
institution submitted to the Fee Regulatory Committee and relevant documents
and evidences attached with such proposal; (iii) shall examine the grounds on which the revision application is
preferred; (iv) may call for any information or evidences as may be necessary for
deciding the application from the non-government educational institution to be
submitted within the specified time limit; (v) shall take into consideration the factors on which the Fee Regulatory Committee
has determined the fee structure; (vi) consider such other matters as it may deem necessary. (2) After considering all the relevant factors mentioned in sub-rule (1),
the Fee Revision Committee shall take a decision on revision application within
a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the said revision
application. (3) The decision of the Fee Revision Committee shall be communicated to the
school management and copy of the same shall be endorsed to the Fee Regulatory
Committee. (4) The order of the Fee Revision Committee shall clearly specify
determination of total fees to be levied for three years and imposition of
penalty in case of contravention. The powers and functions of
the Chairperson and of the Fee Revision Committee amongst others shall be as
follows, namely:- (1) The Committee may call for any information or evidences as may be
necessary for deciding the revision application from the non-government
educational institution. (2) The Committee may issue such directions as it deems necessary in order
to communicate the decision with respect to matters specified in section 14 of
the Act. (1) The non-government educational institution shall submit the complete
proposal for fixation of fee in accordance with the provisions of Act and the
rules within prescribed time limit. (2) The school charging amount of fee lower than the fee prescribed by State
Government by notification in the Official Gazette, shall file an affidavit to
the Fee Regulatory Committee and have to obtain an exemption certificate from
the Fee Regulatory Committee. (3) The school shall send the complete information or statement as may be
called for by the Fee Regulatory Committee and the Fee Revision Committee
within the time limit given by the Committee. (4) The school management/authorised person shall remain present before the
Committee as and when required. (5) The school shall refund the fees as per the directions of the Committee
within the time limit. (6) It shall also inform the Fee Regulatory Committee,- (i) regarding any tie up, agreement, collaboration with any pre-primary
school/play group either directly or indirectly; (ii) regarding any franchise given by the management for pre-primary school operating
under functional, financial or administrative control of the same management or
of relatives; (iii) expenditure incurred towards the related trust or
affiliated/holding/subsidiary company having same trustees/directors/members or
relatives; (iv) having tie up, agreement, understanding or franchise with pre-primary
schools or playgroups. The Fee Regulatory Committee
and the Fee Revision Committee, as the case may be, shall maintain a robust
website portal for collection of all types of applications and issue of all
types of orders of the committee. The Committee will make provision for
collection of all dues through online system only. All correspondences of the
Committee shall be electronic, as far as practicable. If any question or difficulty
as to the interpretation of any provision of these rules arises, the matter
shall be referred to the State Government and the decision of the State
Government in that behalf shall be final. ASSAM NON-GOVERNMENT EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS (REGULATION OF FEES) RULES, 2020
PREAMBLE