State should monitor fee structure in schools: HC

Noting absence of any central Act or statutory body to regulate fee structure in CBSE schools, the Madras High Court on Friday ruled that state government has the “bounden duty” to see that such fee is commensurate with facilities provided to students and that they do not indulge in “profiteering” or charging capitation fees.

Disposing of a batch of petitions, a division bench, comprising justices R Banumathi and R Subbiah, in a common order said: “There has to be a mechanism to check the private schools from charging exorbitant fees.”

A batch of petitions by schools across Tamil Nadu recognised under CBSE/ICSE regulations had challenged the applicability of Tamil Nadu Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2009  (Tamil Nadu Schools Fee Act, 2009) to CBSE/ICSE Schools and the fee determined by School Fee Determination Committee on the ground that it is vitiated by arbitrariness. The court also held that CBSE schools and ICSE schools are “private schools” within the meaning of Section 2 (j) of Tamil Nadu Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2009 and the provisions of  the same are applicable to both categories.

Holding that the ultimate object of the T N Schools Fee Act, 2009, was to regulate the collection of fee by schools in Tamil Nadu, it said: “Excluding the CBSE Schools and ICSE Schools from the ambit of the Act would defeat the object of the Act.” Under Section 7 of the said Act, the Committee has the power to determine the fee and verify whether the fee collected by CBSE schools was commensurate with the facilities provided , the bench said.