E-Paper
Haryana private schools to charge fees on Punjab lines
It was on June 30 that the high court (HC) had allowed private schools in Punjab to collect tuition fees even for the period during which the state was under lockdown.
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday disposed of a clutch of petitions on Haryana schools’ fee issue, ordering that schools will charge fees on the lines of their Punjab counterparts.
It was on June 30 that the high court (HC) had allowed private schools in Punjab to collect tuition fees even for the period during which the state was under lockdown.
The schools were also permitted to collect admission fees.
The Haryana government’s series of notifications put out in the view of Covid-19 outbreak, which restrained schools from collection of fees and other funds besides increasing fees, have been challenged in different petitions before the HC since May.
The HC bench of Justice Ramendra Jain on Monday said all these petitions have been disposed of in terms of the order passed by a coordinate bench in the Punjab’s case, government as well as petitioners’ lawyers said.
A detailed order from the court is yet to be released.
In Punjab’s case, the HC had restrained schools from increasing the fee for the year 2020-21 and the schools were also barred from depriving students of attending school and online classes if the fee was not paid.
Parents facing hardships were told to approach school, which can decide the application. In case of dissatisfaction with schools’ decision, parents can approach the fee regulatory body.
The schools too, which are facing financial hardships, were told to approach district education officer along with the relevant proofs.
The school managements were told 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 HC order in Punjab’s case was subsequently challenged by the state government and parents, and is pending before a division bench.
