Ashok Agarwal, Advocate
National President, AIPA
M-09811101923
Delhi High Court constituted Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee to determine the justifiability of fee-hiked in 2009 by unaided private schools of Delhi in its two interim reports submitted in the High Court has held that most of the private schools have unjustly and without actual requirement increased fee and other charges and directed refund of the same to the parents with 9% interest thereon.
Advocate Ashok Agarwal, National President, All India Parents Association (AIPA) said that in view of these finding of the Committee, it would be advisable to all the parents to not to pay the hike fee in 2013-14, till a school gets prior approval of the hiked fee from Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee.
The parents should note that there is no law permitting the schools to increase the fee every year by 10%. The law is that it can be increased or decreased depending upon the actual requirement of a school.
Delhi High Court in its judgment of 12.08.2011 in Social Jurist PIL had asked the Central Government to frame a national policy on school fees. Unfortunately, the Central Government has done nothing in this regard till date. All over the country, unaided private schools are exploiting parents in the matter of school fees. As a long run solution, the Central Government is required to enact a central legislation to regulate fees in all the unaided recognised private schools in the country. Not only that, the legislation should also have a provision for at least 50% representation to the parents in the managing committee of such schools. If it is done, the commercialization in unaided private schools can be checked to a larger extent.
