Madurai: Parents and students have urged Chief Minister Vijay to scrap the practice of collecting “question paper fees” from school students, saying it places an avoidable burden on families despite multiple welfare schemes.
While the government provides 21 welfare items for students—from textbooks and notebooks to school bags—rules state that government schools should not collect any amount other than the Parent-Teacher Association fee of Rs 50. However, question paper fees are reportedly collected across all types of schools from Classes 6 to 12.
As per the details cited, students in Classes 6–8 are charged Rs 80 each, Classes 9–10 Rs 100, and Classes 11–12 Rs 150, with variations of Rs 10–20 depending on the district. The fees are linked to printing and supply of question papers for quarterly, half-yearly and annual exams, and for revision tests in Classes 10 and 12.
The report alleges that private firms that receive printing orders pay commissions to officials and question paper coordinators, with rates said to vary by position. In some cases, teachers are reportedly pressured to pay on behalf of students who cannot afford the fee and later recover it from them.
Parents argue that the government already bears this cost at the primary level and should extend the same support to Classes 6–12. They also question why district-wise papers are prepared when the department has repeatedly spoken about following a uniform question paper pattern statewide, and have called for the fee collection to be stopped.
