HC allows private schools in Punjab to collect tuition, admission fee
The court, however, restrains the schools from increasing the fee for the year 2020-21
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday allowed private schools in Punjab to collect tuition fee. The high court also permitted them to collect admission fee.
The high court bench of justice Nirmajlit Kaur said that irrespective of whether schools offered online classes during the lockdown period or not, they are entitled to collect the tuition fee.
However, the schools have been restrained from increasing the fee for the year 2020-21.
On May 14, the high court had allowed private schools in Punjab to charge 70% fee from students for the 2020-21 academic year as an interim measure. The court had also allowed schools to charge admission fee in two installments in six months and further directed that teachers in these schools would have to be paid 70% of their salaries.
It had acted on a petition from the Independent Schools’ Association, Chandigarh, with member schools in Punjab, after the association had contested the government move to allow schools to charge only tuition fee during the lockdown and not building, transportation and meals charges.
The schools had argued that if not allowed to collect or increase fee, how would they pay teachers.
The decision to allow the collection of 70% of the fee had resulted in parents resorting to protests in large parts of the state. Subsequently, the state government and scores of parent bodies had become party in the dispute.
FINANCIAL HARDSHIP PLEA
The court asserted that no child will be deprived of attending school and online classes if fee is not deposited by the parent. However, the same is subject to the parent of such a child moving an application before the school on financial hardship.
As for other charges, the school managements have been asked to work out the actual expenditure incurred under the annual charges for the period the school remained closed and recover only such expenditure incurred by them, including actual transport charges and actual building charges.
These charges can’t be recovered for the period for any activity or facility towards which no expenditure is incurred.
The court said that any parent not able to pay the school fee may file their application along with necessary proof about their financial status, which shall be looked into by the school.
In case the parent is still aggrieved, he or she can approach a fee regulatory body against the school’s decision.
As for the schools facing financial hardships, the institution concerned may move a representation to the district education officer along with its proof.
The DEO shall look into it and pass appropriate orders within three weeks.
The court also refused to interfere with the government instructions that any teacher or other staff member cannot be removed.
Their salary too can neither be stopped nor reduced.
To the issue raised by schools that state could not have issued instructions under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the court observed deferring the fee or exempting the payment of fee although is not a factor to control the disease, but the steps taken like the lockdown to control and reduce the exposure has definitely resulted in loss of business, work and daily earning, leading to financial crunch and hardship.
Therefore, the concern of the state to mitigate and avert the trickle down effects as a temporary measure is not totally out of line, it added.