HC Extends the order passed for the schools in Punjab regarding fee collection to Haryana Schools

Vinod Kakumanu
Aug. 4, 2020, 2:40 p.m.

The order originally issued for the Punjab schools enabling them to collect admission and tuition fee irrespective of whether they are conducting online classes or not have been extended to the schools in Haryana.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court decided on the petition filed by 87 private schools of Haryana, and extended the order for Punjab schools to the schools in Haryana.

In Punjab, the schools have been allowed to charge for other facilities besides tuition and admission for the lockdown period, however the allowance comes with caveats. The schools have been directed by the court to not increase the fees for the 2020-21 academic session and continue with the same fee structure.

The decision has come in response to the petition filed by 87 schools of Haryana who had approached the court after the state government restricted them from collecting fees under several heads in the lockdown period

The petitioner in this case was Sarv Vidyalya Sangh, an association of 87 schools of Haryana. The petitioner argued that the restrictions placed on the enhanced fee collection is financially constraining.

Notably, the government had ordered the schools to charge only the monthly tuition fees from the capable parents and waive off the other charges such as like building fund, maintenance fund, admission charges and computer charges. The order was challenged by the school association in the court.

The school managements of the petitioning schools have attested to the fact that under the new directions the schools will incur 20-25 lakhs after the lockdown is lifted and they have expenses like teachers’ salaries, property tax, water bills, electricity bills etc. to pay for.