High Court directs 15% cut in private schools fee for 2020-21

The High Court has directed the private unaided school managements to slash school fees by 15 per cent for the 2020-21 academic year on the fee fixed for the year 2019-20.

The court disposed of a batch of petitions filed by associations of school managements and others with several directions, including asking the schools not to debar any student from attending online classes or attending the exams on account of non-payment of fees.

The petitions were filed by Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), Karnataka State Minorities Educational Institutions Managements Federation and others. The petitions challenged the January 29, 2021 directive of the state government asking private schools to collect only 70 per cent of the fees collected in the academic year 2019-20.

Justice R Devdas said the order passed by the apex court in the case of Indian School, Jodhpur (Rajasthan) in May 2021, is binding on the petitioner-institutions in the state. While the apex court concluded that the state government (Rajasthan) was not vested with powers to deduct school fees under the provisions of law, it directed deduction of 15 per cent on the fees in view of unutilised facilities by the students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The petitioner-institution (school management of the concerned private unaided school) shall collect annual school fees from their students as fixed under the Act of 1995 (Karnataka Education Act and Rules) for the academic year 2019-20, but by providing deduction of 15 per cent on that amount in lieu of unutilised facilities by the students during the relevant period of academic year 2020-21,” the court said adding that it will be open to the petitioners to further provide concession to their students or to evolve a different pattern of concession over and above 15 per cent.

The court has further directed the school managements to consider individual requests by the parent/ward expressing difficulty in paying the annual fees, sympathetically on a case-to-case basis. The court also directed the school management not to withhold the name of any student/candidate for the ensuing board examinations for classes 10 and 12 on the ground of non-payment of fees/arrears for 2020-21. The court has clarified that the arrangement will not affect collection of fees for the academic year 2021-22.

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