Fee hike: Private schools plan to move court again

Two days after the state government’s latest order that private schools will not be allowed to hike their fees without permission from their Parent-Teacher Associations, (PTA), managements of private schools have decided to head back to the Bombay High Court.

Two days after the state government’s latest order that private schools will not be allowed to hike their fees without permission from their Parent-Teacher Associations, (PTA), managements of private schools have decided to head back to the Bombay High Court.

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Two independent sources confirmed that the Unaided Schools’ Forum, an organisation of private schools, will move court with their objections by July 30.

The notification issued on July 15 has outlined the fee policy for unaided schools.

“We are studying the new order and consulting our lawyers. We will soon decide on our next course of action,” said S.C. Kedia, joint secretary of the forum after their meeting on Saturday.

A fresh petition will not be filed because the forum’s previous petition is pending in the high court, which is also against an order which also stated that private schools will not be able to hike their fees without taking permission from the PTA and deputy director.

Even though the new notification allows schools to hike fees so as to earn an undefined “reasonable surplus” above expenses, as demanded, school managements still have objections.

Last month, parents had objected to a circular issued in May that put a six per cent cap on this surplus.

“Why should schools take permission from the PTA and deputy director over hiking fees?” said a principal who did not wish to be named. “We are fully unaided and should not have to take permission from any authorities.”

Unhappy over displaying their accounts on their website, another school trustee said, “There will be too much interference if we have to show our accounts on the website. We are prepared to file our returns with the government but why should we be answerable to every Tom, Dick and Harry?”

On July 16, a day after the notification was released, Forum for Fairness in Education, a non-governmental organisation, had said they will be moving court because the order did not specify a limit to the “reasonable surplus” that schools could earn.