Fee row: S Suresh Kumar for consensus between schools and parents

Playing cards close to his chest and taking a diplomatic stand on the row over the school fees, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Monday said that the private school managements and parent groups must come to a mutual understanding about the row.

Replying to questions about a series of protests by the parent groups against some private unaided schools over the fee issues, the minister said, "This, in fact, happened last year as well. We request the school managements and parents to come to a mutual understanding and resolve the fee-related issues in a civilised manner."

However, the case related to the fee issue is expected to be taken by the High Court on Tuesday. "We have requested the court to constitute a committee of a retired High Court Justice regarding the fee issue," the minister added.