Clear reduced school fees till September: Gauhati HC
GUWAHATI: Stepping in to provide parity between private schools and parents of students over a state government notification enforcing a 25% cut in monthly fees from May till physical and formal opening of schools, the Gauhati high court has ordered that fees payable at reduced rates should be paid on time, minimum up to September.
The state government, in a notification on August 13, had asked private educational institutions in the state to waive at least 25% fees for pre-primary to Class 12 students from May 1, 2020 until the schools reopens for physical and formal education. The notification also says that parents are requested to clear dues of their wards minimum up to September, 2020 at the reduced rates immediately so that the authorities can pay salaries to their teaching and non-teaching staff without any problem.
The two-member bench of the high court of Chief Justice Ajai Lamba and Justice Manish Choudhury, while hearing the PIL filed by advocate Bikash Sharma, observed, “This court is required to balance the equities. The equities in favour of the educational institutions can only be balanced if the dues payable at reduced rates are paid.”
The court will hear the All Assam Private Schools Association on the case on September 30 and ordered that in the meantime, the state government’s notification asking parents to pay the reduced fees minimum up to September “would be complied by all the parents and guardians of the students.”
The court also observed, that “…in case the dues are not cleared within the time given, the educational institutions would be at liberty to take appropriate action in accordance with the regulations governing the school and the issue of students not paying the fees. This provision is being made considering that without the schools receiving remuneration for the services being rendered and for maintenance of the existing infrastructure, the schools would be left with no resources to pay the teachers and maintain the infrastructure.”
The court also appreciated timely action taken by the state government for issuing the notification, asking the private schools to slash the fees by 25%.
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