The Bombay high court on Thursday observed that the government and the authorities concerned should decide the fee structure before the commencement of an academic session.
The observations came while the court was deciding on the petitions filed by private unaided schools challenging a government resolution dated May 8, 2009.
The government had ruled that if private schools increased the fees without the assent of the fee control committee (which is yet to be formed), the permission granted to them would be withdrawn and the no-objection certificates would be revoked.
The division bench of chief justice Swatanter Kumar and justice AM Khanwilkar has directed the authorities to place the Bansal Committee report before the state government within two weeks. The court has also directed the state to take a decision on the report after hearing the private schools and parents.
Meanwhile, the court has continued its order dated July 8, 2009, by which it had directed the students/parents of private unaided schools to pay the fee for the present academic year, which will be subject to the final outcome of these petitions.
The court had also stayed the government resolution for eight more weeks.
As per the earlier court directives, the state government had, in August this year, appointed a 21-member committee under the chairmanship of Kumud Bansal, a retired IAS officer. The committee, which submitted the report on October 16 this year, upheld the rights of the private unaided schools to decide their own fee structure. “However, schools are proscribed from charging capitation fees and they should not be allowed to make profits,” suggested the report.
If the state government accepts the Bansal Committee report, then the issues raised by the private school managements and parents will not stand. If the state does not agree, then the fee control committee shall determine the fee chargeable by the schools, the court’s judgment said.
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