Private schools welcome HC green signal to fee hike

Private schools across the Capital have welcomed the Delhi High Court’s provisional order backing the decision to hike fees by 25 per cent, reports HT Correspondent.

Private schools across the Capital have welcomed the Delhi High Court’s provisional order backing the decision to hike fees by 25 per cent.

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“We are pleased the court has acknowledged the legitimate concerns of the schools as they seek to protect their ability to continue to deliver high quality education,” said Arun Kapoor, president of the Forum for Promotion of Quality Education, a body representing some of the top schools in the Capital.

The Court had on Thursday ordered that students leaving schools, because of completion of board exams or parental decision to leave or change schools, must pay up in full the extra fees and arrears resulting from the passing of the 6th Pay Commission.

“This is a fair outcome as it ensures that nobody will be tempted to walk away from their moral obligation to pay up for the education their children have received,” said Manju Bharat Ram, chairperson, the Sri Ram Schools.

“If parents were to walk away without paying it would either mean extra financial burden on the remaining parents, or damage to the standards and quality of education that schools deliver,” Ram said.

The Court has told schools they cannot take any coercive actions like removal, withholding of report cards or transfer certificate if a student fails to pay the arrears from January 1, 2006 to August 31, 2008.

The court also upheld a clause in the Delhi Government notification that disallowed schools to withhold the report card of a student who did not pay the arrears from September 1, 2008 to March 1, 2009.

“The court has corroborated and approved some of the major demands for which we had been fighting for the last one year,” said Vijender Gupta, President, Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh.

Parents said that they were willing to pay the fees but would not put up with the exploitation of certain schools.

“Many schools have increased fees beyond the prescribed limit. They should explain why they are charging extra money,” said Ranjit Sahai, who has two daughters studying in a private school in Delhi.