Chennai: Heads of government and aided schools must no longer collect exam fees or question paper charges, and doing so will attract action, the School Education Department has announced.The directive, issued to chief education officers, calls for enforcing the rule in all schools under their jurisdiction. It comes in the wake of the Madurai Bench of the high court issuing an interim injunction restraining the collection of such fees for students of Classes 6th to 8th as the practice violated the Right to Education Act.Usually, school heads collect around INR 100 to 150 rupees per student for the purpose. The amount is sent to a district coordinator, usually an HM, and subsequently to the printing press where the question papers are printed. Every school maintains a record of the amount collected.Chief Education Officers have been instructed to receive complaints in this regard and take appropriate action. “Students, along with their parents, can approach the CEO’s office and lodge a formal complaint if the fee is collected. Further, they can make use of the helpline 108 to flag the issue,” an official with the education department said, adding that strict action will be taken against erring school heads.Student welfare activists welcomed the move, adding that schools must also incur revaluation expenses faced by higher secondary school students. “Though the amount is meagre (less than INR 500), students continue to pay for getting scanned copies of their answer sheets. For select subjects like Biology, the revaluation cost is higher as well. The govt can incur these expenses as well,” said S Arumainathan, president, TN Students Parents Welfare Association.