Order against hiking fee for ACs stayed

HC STAYED A SINGLE JUDGE ORDER THAT INSTALLATION OF ACS CAN’T BE GROUNDS TO HIKE TUITION FEES

The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed a single judge order that held that installation of air conditioners (AC) in schools of the national capital cannot be a ground to hike tuition fees to pay electricity charges.

A bench of acting Chief Justice Gital Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra, however, was of the view that 15 per cent hike in tuition fees by schools towards power charges and running of the AC system they had installed, was not appropriate.

“There may be many parents who cannot afford to even pay one per cent of the enhanced fees by the schools,” the bench observed.

It, however, said that till the next date, it will stay the verdict of the single judge who had said that providing AC facilities in the school cannot be connected with the curricular or co-curricular activities.

The division bench directed the schools that they will not insist on parents to pay any enhanced fees till the appeal is pending before it.

To this, the counsel for two schools submitted that they have not enhanced any fees since the 2015-16 academic year.

The bench issued notice to the Delhi government on the schools’ appeal and sought their stand in this regard.

The single judge ruling had come while dismissing the plea of the schools against a June 16, 2016, order of the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) holding that the 15 per cent hike in tuition fees was illegal.

The schools had challenged the order before the single judge saying, they hiked the tuition fee to meet the expenses incurred in maintaining and running the AC system and in paying electricity bills, which are all recurring expenses in the nature of revenue expenses.

The schools had claimed that ACs had been installed for an academic purpose, the running cost for which is a revenue expense for improvement of curricular facilities.

Disagreeing with the schools, the court said the DoE’s order “rightly held” that the charges for the electricity bill cannot be included in tuition fees and overheads, nor it is expenses on playground, sports equipment, cultural activities etc. and also on co-curricular activities.