Schools can recover fees from defaulting parents: SC

The Supreme Court said a school management can recover pending fees from parents after considering their "just" pleas -- related to more time or some other difficulties -- "compassionately".

"It is open to the school management to initiate appropriate action for recovery of the outstanding dues/amount, if any, in accordance with law," a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar said.

"At the same time, if the concerned parent or ward seeks some indulgence for just reasons, it will be open to the school management to consider such request compassionately," the bench said.

The top court said its May 3 judgement delivered in the case of 'Progressive Schools Association Versus State of Rajasthan' did not extricate the parent or ward from the liability to pay the fees in any manner.

The court passed this order on October 1 on an application seeking clarification on the judgement. It said school management can recover the fees "strictly in accordance with law".

The school's management led by senior advocate Vikas Singh contended that the top court must clarify paragraph 117 of the judgement that it does not prohibit the schools from taking coercive action against the students who fail to pay the installments as per the arrangement.

Amongst others, the top court's judgment had then directed the school management not to debar any student from attending either online classes or physical classes on account of non-payment of fees, arrears, including the installments. It had also then directed them not to withhold the results of the examinations of any student for that reason.

The court also also said if any individual request is made by the parent or ward finding it difficult to remit annual fees for the academic year 2020-2021 in terms of the judgment, the school management should consider such representation on case-to-case basis sympathetically.

Passing its order on clarification application, the bench said, "the spirit of the direction was to give time to the concerned parent or ward to pay the fees, including by way of installments."

In their contention, the school management said that the last date for paying the installments has already expired long ago and despite that, there are some parents and wards who were still in arrears and had committed default.

Allowing the recovery of fees in such cases, the court said the parent or ward can obviously approach the appropriate forum if the demand was excessive and beyond the permissible amount.

In the May 3 judgement, the top court had held state authorities do not have any power under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to order reduction in fees of private unaided schools.

The top court, however, said private school management, engaged in doing charitable activity of imparting education, is expected to be responsive and alive to the pandemic situation and take necessary remedial measures to mitigate the hardship suffered by students and their parents.