01
What this policy covers
This policy explains how St. John's Higher Secondary School, Barama deals with the refund and cancellation of fees — which heads can be refunded, in what circumstances, how to apply and how long it takes. It covers fees paid at the school office and payments made online through Academica ERP and the school app.
The school is not a commercial seller of goods. Fees meet the cost of running an institution whose staffing, laboratories, transport and hostel commitments are fixed for a whole academic session, and the policy reflects that. Where the school has genuinely not incurred the cost — a month not yet begun, a bus seat given up with notice, a payment taken twice — money is returned.
Relationship with the Terms and Conditions
The contractual position is set out in the Terms and Conditions, which state when fees and service charges cease to be refundable. This page explains how the school applies those terms in practice. Where the two differ on a point, the Terms and Conditions govern and we will correct this page.
One rule worth knowing before you pay
Under the Terms, fees and service charges become non-refundable once the admission form has been processed, once an enrolment number has been issued, or after seven days from the submission of the fee — whichever applies first. Please raise any question about a fee before you pay it.
02
Fee heads and what can be refunded
The school bills under separate heads, and they are not treated alike. The table below is the working rule; individual cases are decided against it.
| Fee head | Position | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Registration and admission processing fee | Not refundable | Covers the cost of assessing and processing the application. Non-refundable once the form has been processed, as stated in the Terms. |
| Service charges | Not refundable | Non-refundable in all circumstances, including where a fee refund is otherwise approved. |
| Tuition fee | Refundable in part | Charged monthly. Months already commenced are not refunded; whole months not yet commenced are refunded from the month following an approved withdrawal. |
| Caution money or security deposit, where collected | Refundable | Returned on issue of the Transfer Certificate, after deduction of any outstanding dues or the cost of damage to school property. |
| Transport fee | Refundable in part | Whole unused months are refunded once 1 month's written notice has been given to the office. |
| Hostel — establishment and admission charges | Not refundable | Meets the cost of a place held for the session. |
| Hostel — mess advance | Refundable | The unused balance is returned after the account for the period of stay is settled. |
| Examination and board fees | Not refundable once remitted | Registration and examination fees payable to SEBA or AHSEC cannot be recovered by the school once they have been remitted to the board. |
| Books, uniform, diary and RFID identity card | Not refundable | Not refundable once the items have been issued. |
| Annual, ERP and school-app charges | Not refundable | Charged for the academic session and non-refundable once the session has begun. |
| Duplicate or failed online payment | Refundable in full | See section 04. No deduction is made where a payment has been taken twice or has failed. |
03
Withdrawal, transfer and cancellation of admission
A student withdrawn during the session
Give the office written notice from the parent or guardian, and apply for the Transfer Certificate. Tuition is charged up to and including the month in which the withdrawal takes effect; whole months after that are not charged, and are refunded if already paid. Admission, registration and annual charges are not refunded. Caution money, where it has been collected, is returned with the Transfer Certificate after dues are settled.
An admission cancelled before the session begins
Where a family cancels after the seat has been confirmed, the registration and admission processing fees and the service charges are not refundable. Any advance tuition, transport or hostel fee for months not yet begun is refunded in full.
An admission cancelled by the school
The school may cancel an admission where documents are not produced within the time allowed, where fees are not paid by the due date, or where the information given proves to be untrue. In such a case the service charges are not refundable, and the balance is refunded in accordance with this policy.
Where the school is unable to run a class or service
If the school cannot provide a course, a bus route or a hostel place that a family has paid for, the fee for the part not provided is refunded in full, without deduction.
A refund application should reach the office within 30 days of the withdrawal taking effect. Later applications are considered on merit, but the school cannot promise them.
04
Failed, duplicate and incorrect online payments
Fees paid through Academica ERP or the school app pass through a bank or payment gateway. Three situations come up often, and none of them costs the family anything.
- The amount was debited but the receipt did not generate. The payment is usually reconciled automatically within 5 to 7 working days, and the receipt then appears in the ERP. If it does not, send the office the transaction reference and the bank statement line and we will trace it with the gateway.
- The payment failed at the gateway. Where a debit was nevertheless taken, the bank reverses it automatically, again typically within 5 to 7 working days. No application to the school is needed for a reversal of this kind.
- The same fee was paid twice, or paid against the wrong student. Tell the office. Once the ledger confirms it, the duplicate is refunded in full, or — at your written request — adjusted against the next instalment or transferred to the correct student's account.
The school does not charge a processing fee on a refund of this kind, and does not retain the gateway charge on a payment that never reached it.
Keep the reference
Every online payment produces a transaction reference in Academica ERP and in your bank message. Quoting it lets the office settle a query in one step instead of several.
05
Transport and hostel
School transport
A seat on a bus is held for the whole session, and the route is planned around the children on it. To stop the service, give the office 1 month's written notice. Transport fee for whole months after the notice period is refunded; part months are not. A change of route or stop mid-session is charged at the rate for the new route from the month it takes effect.
Hostel
Hostel establishment and admission charges meet the cost of holding a place and are not refunded. The mess advance is an account: on leaving, the cost of the period actually stayed is deducted and the balance is returned. Where a student leaves the hostel but remains in the school, the hostel fee stops from the month following written notice.
06
How to apply for a refund
Refunds are made to the parent or guardian on record, not to a third party, and never in cash where the payment was made electronically.
- 01
Write to the office
Submit a signed application from the parent or guardian recorded in Academica ERP, stating the student's name, class, section, admission number, the fee head concerned and the reason for the request.
- 02
Attach the proof
Enclose the fee receipt or the ERP transaction reference. For a failed or duplicate online payment, attach the bank or card statement line showing the debit.
- 03
Clear the record
The accounts section reconciles the request against the ledger in Academica ERP and confirms that no dues, library books or school property remain outstanding.
- 04
Approval
The Principal approves or declines the request in writing. Where a request is declined, the reason is given.
- 05
Payment
The approved amount is paid within 30 working days, to the same channel the payment came from where possible, or by NEFT to the parent's registered bank account.
07
How long it takes, and how it is paid
A complete application — one with the receipt or transaction reference attached and no dues outstanding — is settled within the period below. An incomplete application is returned with a note saying what is missing, and the clock starts again when it comes back.
- Apply within
- 30 days of the withdrawal taking effect
- Processed within
- 30 working days of a complete, approved application
- Gateway reversals
- 5 to 7 working days, handled by the bank without an application
- Paid by
- The original payment channel where possible, otherwise NEFT to the parent's registered account
- Deductions
- Outstanding dues, library books not returned and damage to school property
08
What this policy does not cover
- Fees, deposits or charges collected by a third party — a board, a bank, an examination body or a vendor — which are governed by that party's own rules once remitted.
- Voluntary contributions and donations, which are not refundable.
- Absence from school, including absence on medical grounds, which does not reduce the tuition fee for the period.
- Closure of the school on account of weather, public order, epidemic or an order of the authorities, where teaching continues by other means.
- Any claim for a refund made after the record of the payment has reached the end of its retention period, as set out in the Privacy Policy.
09
If you disagree with a decision
Ask the accounts section first — most disputes are a reconciliation question and are settled at the counter. If the answer does not satisfy you, write to the Principal setting out the payment, the decision and why you believe it is wrong. The school will reply in writing.
Fee and refund queries
- Office
- The Principal, St. John's H.S. School, Barama
- Telephone
- +91 88762 81051
- In person
- Barama, Baksa, Assam — 781346, India
10
Changes to this policy
Fee heads and their amounts are revised for each academic session, and this policy is reviewed at the same time. The version in force is the one published here on the date the fee was paid. Material changes are announced to parents through the school app and a circular.
The principle behind all of it
Where the school has committed the cost, the fee stands. Where it has not — a month not begun, a seat given up with notice, a payment taken twice — the money goes back. If a case falls between the lines, bring it to the office and it will be decided on that principle.
Approved refunds are settled within 30 working days