Madras HC Allows Private Schools To Collect 85% Fees In Instalments

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

• While adjudicating upon a batch of petitions challenging a Tamil Nadu Government order dated April 20, 2020, this matter was raised.
• Justice D Krishna kumar was hearing the petitions that had restrained private schools and colleges (unaided) in the State from compelling students or parents to pay the fee for the academic year 2020-2021 and other pending dues during the lockdown period.
• Some parents had also filed petitions alleging that schools had collected 100 percent fees without any online classes or dispensing other services.

SIMILAR JUDGEMENTS

• The High Court also relied upon the Apex Court judgement made inIndian School, Jodhpur and Another v. State of Rajasthan and Others.
• Here, the Supreme Court had stated that the State authorities do not have any power under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 for reducing the academic in fees of private unaided schools.

COURT’S OBSERVATION

• TheMadras High Courttook a decision on Friday, and permitted the private unaided educational institutions to collect 85% of the annual school feepayable for the academic year of 2021-22.
• It would be collected in six instalments from those parents who have not suffered any form of financial loss during the pandemic period.
• The Court also made it clear that no student can be restricted from attending the online classes or from taking exams or be expelled from the institution only considering the non-payment of fees.
• In an interim order issued on 17 July, the Court had directed the unaided private institutions to collect 40% of the tuition fees.
• The Court was of the view that with the ongoing pandemic not only the students are getting affected, but the private schools are also being affected adversely. The schools are struggling to pay their staffs and had to temporarily terminate the services of some their faculty for co-curricular and extra-curricular activities like sports and arts etc.
• The schools have also submitted their grievance, before the Court that, they are finding it difficult to even collect the tuition fees and conducting virtual classes have shot up their expenditure.
• Schools are required to provide for laptops and network connectivity for the teachers, who do not have the required infrastructure to conduct online classes. Thus, schools with moderate funds are facing extreme difficulty to survive.

DIRECTIONS ISSUED

The Court has issued the following directions after taking into consideration the grievances of the concerned stakeholders.

• The school authority of the concerned private unaided schools can collect85% of the annual school feesfor the academic year 2021-2022 in six instalments from those parents who did not suffer any financial loss during the pandemic period.
• School management must consider the request of parents who had suffered loss and collect 75% of the fees.
• Case-to-case basis representation would be considered for the parents who would ask for further concession on payment of annual fees for on grounds of unemployment, close down of business due to lockdown.
• The students cannot be removed from the school under any circumstances for this academic year 2021-2022.
• No student can be restricted from attending online classes.
• The school management must not withhold the results of the examinations of the student solely on that ground of non-payment of fees.

DIRECTIONS ISSUED

• TheDistrict Educational Officer of the Districts and the Fee Determination Committee must attend to any dispute arising between the parents and the school management in respect of concession in fees.
• Schools are allowed to give further concession.
• The State Government should consider sanction amount for the fees, if there is any unfilled seats available in the under 25% quota under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
• The school management of CBSE Schools must publish the details of fees to be collected for the academic year 2021-2022 in their respective website, within 4 weeks.
• The State Government shall take responsibility and issue revised circulars to all the schools within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

DO YOU THINK THE CORRECT JUDGEMENT IS GIVEN?