Kolkata schools get CISCE notice on uniform exam fees
Times of India | 7 June 2025
Kolkata: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Friday issued a circular to heads of several city schools affiliated to the board informing them about the uniform examination fees for ISC and ICSE examinees. The Council has fixed the fees to ensure uniformity in local fees charged from candidates and payments made to examination functionaries across all centres. Principals of several city schools have welcomed the move.For ICSE the fees has been set at Rs 4,350, and Rs 5,450 for ISC. The charges will be effective from the 2026 examination year.The notice clearly states that schools are no longer permitted to collect any additional fees from students appearing for ICSE or ISC. The Council aims to curb arbitrary charges in terms of examination fees imposed on examinees.Earlier, local charges for various facilities, including refreshments and transportation, and travel allowance for external examination functionaries were determined at meetings between school heads and conveners of respective zones. Sources said there were several discrepancies observed as CISCE never interfered to determine local examination fees previously. The Council has included expenses for printing and sending stationery parcels to conveners and the collection of answer script parcels as well. Terence John, director of education at Julien Day Group of Schools, said, "This is a very good move taken by the Council. It's good for schools as well."Another school principal said, "Charges have slightly increased but it still remains in the affordable range. Earlier, several schools imposed extra charges on their students."National English School's principal Mousumi Saha said, "This has reduced the extra burden on schools and conveners. Now, everything will be controlled centrally." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes, messages, and quotes !