Pvt unaided schools can fix own fees but no capitation fees: SC

The Supreme Court has held that private unaided schools in the national capital can fix their own fee structure, sans capitation fees, and transfer their surplus funds from one school to another provided they are under the same management.

The Supreme Court has held that private unaided schools in the national capital can fix their own fee structure, sans capitation fees, and transfer their surplus funds from one school to another provided they are under the same management.

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A three-judge bench of Justices S B Sinha, S H Kapadia and Cyriac Joseph, reiterated their earlier ruling that private schools can fix their own fee structure subject to the condition that no capitation fee is charged from the student.

In other words, the Delhi government would not be an authority to fix the fees but has the power to examine whether any capitation fee is charged by the schools.

The bench passed the judgement while dealing with the review petitions filed by a bunch of schools challenging the earlier judgement passed by the apex court in 2004 wherein it was held that the government had the power to examine the fee structure.

The judgement assumes significance as private unaided schools here had challenged an order passed by the Director of School Education regulating the fee structure in the schools.

The apex court said the rules governing the fee structure in schools should be in conformity with its earlier Constitution bench judgements in the T M A Pai and P A Inamdar cases, where it was held that private unaided educational institutions have the power to fix their own fee structure, provided no capitation fees are charged.