Advocate moves SC for uniform school fee structure

An advocate has approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and the States to waive off school fees and apply uniform structure for it during the period of lockdown.

In a PIL, petitioner Reepak Kansal pointed out that the government and private schools and educational institutions have been demanding fees, including transport, building funds, maintenance charges, etc. from the parents, who are facing hard time due to Covid-19 situation.

He said though there were no physical classes, schools were conducting online classes, which did not fall in the scope of schooling.

Kansal maintained that the parents may be charged for the expenses for the said online classes proportionally from the students who have given prior consent and attended online classes.

However, due to online classes, the students may suffer from various problems including week eye-sight, depression, anxiety, bi-polor, and disruptive behavior disorders.

In his plea, he said there is a need for the court for interpretation and application of 'force majure' (unforseeable circumstances preventing fulfilling of contract) clause in the current circumstances and give a direction for uniform fee structure across the country.

Earlier, a group of parents led by Sushil Sharma have approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and States to ensure all the private and unaided schools do not charge any fees from the students since April 1 till commencement of physical classes, suspended due to the lockdown imposed to contain Covid-19 pandemic.