Schools can’t strike off students’ names: UT admn tells HC

CHANDIGARH: The UT administration on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that nonpayment of tuition fee by any parent in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak will not result in denial of education or any other adverse consequence for the student.

Senior standing counsel Pankaj Jain told the bench that instructions in this regard had been issued to all schools on May 18. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Chandigarh advocate, Pankaj Chandgothia, who had challenged the May 18 directions of the UT administration to schools allowing them to charge tuition fee for the months of April and May and thereafter monthly.

Chandgothia told the court that in March schools were told to give one month’s time to parents/ students to deposit the fees after schools reopened, but now two months’ fee was being charged in one go. The bench observed that the UT had already passed orders to private schools not to take any coercive steps.

The bench disposed of the plea observing that adequate arrangement for accommodating students and parents unable to deposit fees has already been made. Therefore, no further direction was required to be issued in the matter, the bench added. The court, however, gave liberty to individual parents and students to approach the schools, the grievance redressal authority, or even the administration in case of any hardship.