E-Paper
UP govt asks pvt schools to comply with HC order to adjust 15% excess fees during Covid period
The amount will be adjusted in the current academic session and the same should be returned to the students, if they have left the schools, says the order
LUCKNOW The state government on Thursday asked all private schools to comply with the high court order to adjust 15% excess fees charged by them during the Covid period (2020-21). The amount will be adjusted in the current academic session and the same should be returned to the students, if they have left the schools, stated the order.
Special secretary, UP government, Rupesh Kumar in an order said, “If any student/guardian/parent-teacher association is aggrieved by non-compliance of the above instructions, then they should submit a complaint to the District Fee Regulatory Committee under Section 8 of the Uttar Pradesh Self-Financed Independent Schools (Fee Regulation) Act, 2018. The committee will take appropriate decision on their complaint.”
Kumar said the government order (dated April 27, 2020,) not to increase fees was applicable to all schools of all boards operating in the state. But if the schools charged 15% of the calculated amount of the excess fee in the academic session 2020-21, it should now be adjusted, said the order..
In addition to the above, any recognized school or any person aggrieved/aggrieved by the decision of the District Fee Regulatory Committee can submit an appeal before the Divisional Self-Financed Independent School Appellate Authority under Section-8 (11) of the Act.
Kumar said efforts should be made to ensure strict compliance of the above order.
The Allahabad high court had on January 6, 2023, directed all schools in Uttar Pradesh to provide a 15% rebate on the total fees charged during the Covid period in 2020-21. The court’s order said all schools in the state will have to calculate 15% of the total fees charged during the 2020-21 academic year and adjust it in the next session.
Anil Agarwal, president of the Unaided Private Schools Association, UP, however, said most of the member schools had given huge concessions to students in Covid times. “If there are complaints by parents against any school violating it, that school should be questioned,” he said.
Parents welcomed the high court and state government orders of 15% fee adjustment, saying it would give some relief to parents who were hard pressed as their income was hit due to job loss or salary cut.
