Deepali Kalia –
A PIL is filed in Bombay High Court which called into question the fees charged by all aided and unaided schools in Maharashtra during the Covid-19 pandemic, has sought a 50% reduction in fees for the academic years 2020-22 due to school’s facilities not being utilized by the students.
The plea sought directions to Divisional Fee Regulatory Committee to summon reports on the fee structure of each school for the academic year 2020-21 and in taking the situation of the pandemic into consideration asked the committee to decide the fee afresh.
On June 15th the petitioners were briefly heard by Justices S P Deshmukh and G S Kulkarni who then directed the State to file its response to the PIL filed by BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar and three others.
The plea stated, “The management of the schools cannot be heard to collect fees in respect of activities and facilities which are, in fact, not provided or [not] availed by the students due to the circumstances beyond their control in the current pandemic.”
Demanding fees even in respect of overheads as on such activities is nothing short of indulging in profiteering and commercialization…private schools cannot be allowed to receive capitation fee or indulge in profiteering in the guise of autonomy in the current COVID-19 situation,” the plea remarked
The plea also stated that since the pandemic is an “unprecedented” situation with a “serious effect” on the parents as many have lost their jobs following the economic upheaval, the schools thus cannot be rigid.
Lastly, the petition mentioned that parents should be allowed to pay the school fees in instalments, due to non-payment of fees students shouldn’t be precluded from attending online or physical classes and board examination results should not be withheld, as per section 21 of the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011.
