RAUTAHAT: A school in Rautahat district has been found charging students examination fees going against the education laws.

While the rules have it that study upto Grade VIII should be free, the eighth graders at this school are forced to pay a huge sum to attend the District Level Examinations.

Guardians have registered a complaint at the District Education Office in Gaur, urging the government to take stern actions against the culprits and refund the collected amount.

The Saraswati Higher Secondary School in Pipara Bhalohiya was found to have collected Rs 430 from a student, Kabita Kumari Das for the DLE.

Meanwhile, Chhattu Das, father of Kabita Kumari, said the school also failed to produce a valid receipt for the payment. Das thus questioned with the school administration which category the amount was collected in.

He then resorted to lodge a complaint against the school at the DEO.

Meanwhile, the cheated girl accused the school's officiating principal Nabin Pandey of directing other staff to collect the examination fees with the students.

It has been found that the school has collected illegal fees from 165 students.

Pandey also accepted that the government had provided free education upto the Grade VIII, adding the school, however, was compelled to charge students to cover administrative costs.