Delhi HC says parents need not pay fee hike arrears

The Delhi High Court directed the private schools in the national capital not to collect arrears from parents, subjected to the huge burden of fee hike of their wards, giving them a substantial relief. Imposing a stay on the schools for collection of dues accumulated from Jan 1, 2006 to Aug 31, 2008, a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and V K Jain said the parents need not pay the fee hike arrears and asked the schools to refund, if already collected. However, the High Court directed the parents to pay the hiked amount, which was due from September 2008 onwards. The High Court also directed the schools to furnish an undertaking from those parents whose amount would be refunded. In addition, those who have paid the dues and their ward wanted to leave the school will be reimbursed the full amount, the High Court ruled. A petition was filed by Ashok Aggarwal of NGO Social Jurist that the schools have given wrong inflated figures and hiked fee, substantially burdening the parents to pay the arrears for 32 months. The High Court held that the fee hike by private unaided schools in the capital was highly objectionable and asked the government if the schools were following the mandatory provision of law with regard to their accounts. Mr Aggarwal, who appeared as the counsel for a parents organisation, told the High Court that the government had gone contrary to the recommendation given by the S L Bansal Committee, constituted to look into the school fee hike. The Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, aided by the NGO, had challenged the notification of Directorate of Education (DE) on the grounds that it violated the orders of the High Court and the Supreme Court that the accounts of each school be examined before they were allowed to hike the fee. The schools have been demanding up to 50 per cent hike in the tuition fee in order to implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations on teachers salaries and arrears. The DE has created five slabs on the basis of the existing tuition fee in the schools, allowing them a maximum fee hike of Rs 500. The petition will come up for further hearing on July 14.