PUNE: The Forum for Fairness in Education, a non-governmental organisation formed by parents of school-going children has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) on September 2 in the Bombay high court seeking a fee regulatory system in state schools. The forum has demanded an act that could regulate school fees and has also requested all the state MLAs to intervene in the matter.
Jayant Jain, president, Forum for Fairness in Education, said, "We are against the tuition and capitation fees charged by schools. There are a few schools who call themselves international' schools. We want the government to define what really is international' as some schools use the term irrespective of whether they have any international affiliation or not. We have mentioned these two points prominently in our PIL."
According to Jain, some schools charge capitation fees to the tune of Rs 2 lakh, which is exorbitant. "It is even more than the tuition fees. A school in Mumbai charges yearly fee as high as Rs 6.90 lakh, which explains how desperate the need for fee regulation in the state is."
The forum is of the opinion that school managements will exploit parents if there is no restriction on fees charged by them. The forum has also opposed the school managements that collect money from parents under the title building fund' as schools cannot take money from parents for development of school infrastructure.
The forum conducted a meeting of parents and non-governmental organisations in the state regarding the PIL and decided that no parent will pay the hiked amount in fees for the current year.
"We decided that whatever percentage of fees is increased by schools will not be paid by parents across the state. According to the Right to Education Act, the school management cannot expel the students if he or she fails to pay fees. We will make use of this provision and inform every parent to refrain from paying any hike if effected by school," Sandeep Chavan, vice-president of the forum and joint secretary of the D Y Patil Public School parents association said.
The forum has started approaching MLAs and is asking them to take up the matter in the Assembly so that quick steps are taken to introduce an act for fee regulation. The forum has also demanded that a special assembly session be conducted to address the issue.
Government resolutions issued on school fees
MAY 8, 2009: The state school education department issues a government resolution (GR) on May 8, proposing a fee-fixation committee. The GR restrains schools from hiking fees for the new academic year and states that those schools which have already upped their fees will have to seek the approval of a proposed committee
JUNE 2009: A few unaided schools file a petition in court against the GR
JULY 8, 2009: A division bench of the HC allows schools to hike the fees till further orders
MAY 21, 2010: The education department releases two GRs stating that the government will set up a committee to review balancesheets of schools and only then allow fee hikes
JULY 15, 2010: A new GR is released asking schools to follow the fee regulation norms. It is implemented a month later
JULY 20: An association of private unaided schools informs the HC that it wishes to file a fresh petition challenging the July 15 GR
AUGUST 17, 2010: Two days after the Maharashtra government's new school fee policy came into effect, a division bench of the HC asks the state not to take any penal action against school management for hiking fees until further orders
SEPTEMBER 1, 2010: The HC quashes the latest GR on fee regulation
The Court's decision
On September 1, the Bombay high court set aside the government's decision to restrict and regulate fee hikes in private unaided schools. The court set aside two government resolutions (GR), including the one issued on July 15, 2010 that required a committee headed by the divisional deputy director of education to scrutinise the fee structure of private unaided schools. A bench of Justices D K Deshmukh and N D Deshpande held that the "the state did not have the power to issue the GR". The reasoned text of the judgement will be available later, but the judges significantly observed that: "In view of the 2002 TMA Pai judgement of the Supreme Court, the government cannot restrict or regulate fees of private unaided schools."
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