Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act, 2017
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "academic year" means the year specified by the Government or, as the case may be, by any Board or Council to which respective school is affiliated; (b) "an aided school" means any pre-primary school, primary school, upper primary school, secondary school, or higher secondary school, established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons and recognized or approved by the competent authority under any law for the time being in force, which receives any financial grant or assistance from the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority; (c) "educational district" means an educational district, as may be specified by the State Government in the Official Gazette; (d) "elementary education" means the education from First Class to Eighth Class; (e) "employee" means a teacher and includes every other employee working in a recognized school; (f) "existing school" means a recognized self financed school which is in existence at the commencement of this Act; (g) "Fee or Fee Structure" means any amount, by whatever name called, collected, directly or indirectly, by a school for admission of a student to any Standard or course of study and includes,- (i) Tuition fee; (ii) Term fee, which shall not exceed one month tuition fee per term; (iii) Library fee and deposit; (iv) Laboratory fee and deposit; (v) Gymkhana fee; (vi) Caution money; (vii) Examination fee; (viii) Admission fee, which shall not exceed one month tuition fee; (ix) Yoga and Physical Education fee; (x) any other fee as determined by the Fee Regulatory Committee; (h) "Fee Regulatory Committee" means a committee constituted under section 3; (i) "Fee Revision Committee" means a committee constituted under section 12; (j) "Government" means the State Government; (k) "Government school" means a school established, owned or maintained by the Government or a local authority; (l) "Higher Secondary Education" shall have the same meaning as defined in clause (hh) of section 2 of the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Act, 1972; (m) "local authority" means,- (i) a Municipal Corporation constituted under the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949; (ii) a Municipality constituted under the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963; (iii) a Panchayat constituted under the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993; (n) "Management" means:- (i) in the case of a school managed by the Government, the Government; (ii) in the case of school managed by any local authority, the respective local authority; (iii) in any other case, managing committee or the governing body by whatever name called, of school to which the affairs of the school are entrusted and, a person, by whatever name or designation called, where such affairs are entrusted to such person and shall also include trust or company associated with the school in any manner whatsoever; (o) "minority educational institution" means the Government approved institution established and administered by minority having right to do so under clause (1) of article 30 of the Constitution of India; (p) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (q) "pre-primary school" means a Nursery, Junior Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten level or any school imparting education up to pre-primary school level for children having age of 3 to 6 years, by whatever name called and of any medium attached in the prescribed manner to the school, (r) "profiteering" means any amount accepted in cash or kind, directly or indirectly which is in excess of the fee fixed or approved as per the provisions of this Act and shall include profit earned from school by trust or company associated with the school in any manner whatsoever; (s) "public examination" means an examination conducted by the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board or Central Board of Secondary Education or Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations or any other Board recognized by the Government; (t) "recognized school" means a school recognized by the competent Educational Authority of the State or the Central Government; (u) "self financed school" means any pre-primary school, primary school, upper primary school, secondary school or higher secondary school, established and administered or maintained by any person or body of persons including trusts and companies and recognized or approved by the competent authority under any law for the time being in force holding affiliation of International or Central or State Boards operating in the State of Gujarat, which are not receiving any financial grants or assistance from the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority, but does not include a school giving, providing or imparting religious instruction alone; (v) "school" includes a pre-primary, primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary school and also includes any other institution which imparts education or training below the degree level, but does not include an institution which exclusively imparts technical education; (w) "school property" means all movable and immovable property belonging to, or in the possession of, the school and all other rights and interests in, or arising out of, such property, and includes land, building and its appurtenances, playgrounds, hostels, furniture, books, apparatus, maps, equipments, utensils, cash, reserve funds, investments and bank balances;