Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1987

No: 6 Dated: Apr, 15 1988

THE MAHARASHTRA EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (PROHIBITION OF CAPITATION FEE) ACT, 1987

ACT No. VI OF 1988

    An Act to prohibit collection of capitation fee for admission of students to, and their promotion to a higher standard or class in the educational institutions in the State of Maharashtra and to provide for matters connected therewith.

    WHEREAS the practice of collecting capitation fee for admitting students into educational institutions and at the time of promoting students to a higher standard or class at various stages of education is on the increase in the State;

    AND WHEREAS this undesirable practice has been contributing to large scale commercialisation of education which is not conducive to the maintenance of educational standards;

    AND WHEREAS the National Policy on Education 1986 envisages that the commercialisation of technical and professional education should be curbed and that steps should be taken to prevent the establishment of institutions set up to commercialise education;

    AND WHEREAS with a view to effectively curb this evil practice, it is expedient in the public interest to prohibit collection of capitation fee for admission of students to, and their promotion to a higher standard or class in, the educational institutions in the State of Maharashtra and to provide for matters connected therewith;

It is hereby enacted in the Thirty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows :—

1. Short title and extent:- (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act, 1987.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.

2. Definitions:- In this Act, unless the context requires otherwise,-

(a) "capitation fee" means any amount, by whatever name called, whether in cash or kind, in excess of the prescribed or, as the case may be, approved, rates of fees regulated under section 4;

(aa) "Deputy Director" means the Deputy Director of Education or any Officer co-designated as such by the State Government, working under the Director of Education, Director of Higher Education, Director of Technical Education, Director of Medical Education or Director of Vocational Education or any other Directorate of the State Government entrusted with the task of supervision of educational institutions imparting any kind of education in the State;

(b) "educational institution" or "institution" means a school (including Kindergarten, Pre-primary, Balwadi or Nursery School), a college or an institution, by whatever name called, or a part thereof, whether managed by Government, local authority, a University or a private management including educational institution established and administered by any minority, and imparting education and training, exclusively or as one of the various activities, whether technical, professional, vocational or otherwise, and includes any other institution, or a part thereof, as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify; but excludes coaching class, by whatever name called;

(c) "Local Authority",-

(i) in relation to an educational institution managed by a Zilla Parishad, means the Zilla Parishad constituted under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961;

(ii) in relation to an educational institution managed by a Municipal Corporation, means the Municipal Corporation constituted under the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, the City of Nagpur Corporation Act, 1948 or, as the case may be, the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949;

(iii) in relation, to an educational institution managed by a Municipal Council, means the Municipal Council constituted under the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965;

(d) "management",-

(i) in the case of an institution managed by the State Government, means the State Government;

(ii) in the case of an institution managed by a local authority, means that local authority;

(iii) in the case of an institution managed by a University, means that University; and

(iv) in any other case, means the managing committee or the governing body, by whatever name called, of an educational institution to which the affairs of that institution are entrusted and, where such affairs are entrusted to any person whether called as Secretary, Correspondent or by any other name or designation, includes such person;

(e) "minority educational institution" means an institution establishes administered by a minority having a right to do so under clause (1) of article of the Constitution of India;

(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(g) "rules" means the rules made under this Act;

(h) "University" means a university constituted under any law for the time being in force.