Queency Jain
The Jaipur Branch of the Rajasthan High court has sought direction from UGC, the Bar Council of India and the Rajasthan Government to frame guidelines for the regulation of Higher Education Fee structure and its collection during the pandemic.
The Bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, while hearing a plea filed by two students of Manipal University, has issued notices on the petition and stay application, returnable within 8 weeks.
The petitioners have contended that since the University is offering online courses whose fees are less than the on-campus fee, the upscale fee for off-campus students is not justifiable.
The petition was filed by law students Vishal Kumar Jha and Paawanpreet Katewa through advocates Harsha Sharma, Satayam Singh, Amit Kumar Sharma and Tushar Panwar.
The petitioners submitted that students are constantly forced to pay the entire fee at a time despite the fact that their parents are undergoing an extreme financial crisis already.
The plea also contended that access to higher education is a human right and thus students must only be charged for tuition fee and expenses incurred during online classes.
The petitioners urged that bifurcation of fee structure, which is a right of every student to be made known of, has been violated by the University by not disclosing the same to students.
The Bench, by issuing a notice of the writ petition and stay application, said that notices may be served through e-mail also.