COVID-19: SC refuses to interfere with Uttarakhand HC ruling that students cannot be forced to pay school fee
Harish V Nair | Senior Editor (Legal)
The HC gave this order while taking into consideration the situation of poor and middle-class people.
Supreme Court of India | Photo Credit: ANI
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with an order of the Uttarakhand High Court which remarked that students of unaided private schools cannot be forced to pay fees during the lockdown period and asked the schools which had filed an appeal in SC challenge the order which the state government issued in the wake of the HC remarks
“We will not entertain this appeal at this stage. You challenge the orders issued by the State”, Chief Justice S A Bobde told advocate Zoheb Hussain who represented a large number of private schools aggrieved by the High Court order.
Special Leave Petition (Appeal) against the Uttarakhand HC order was filed by Principals Progressive Schools Association and St. Jude’s, Dehradun
HC had said that the "it is only those students, who are able to access the online course being offered by the private educational institutions, who would be required to pay the tuition fee if they choose to do so. Children, who do not have access to the online course, cannot be asked to pay the tuition fee."
The HC gave this order while taking into consideration the situation of poor and middle-class people.
HC had observed in its interim order that the schools were using “subtle methods” to force parents to pay a fee like Whatsapp messages, emails and SMS while payment should be made voluntary
Advocates Zoheb Hussain argued that “schools imparting education through online cannot be restrained from charging fees. He urged the court to consider the incidental expenses involved in imparting online education. He submitted that attendances in online classes were 100% but only 10% students were paying the fees. “The High Court made the observations with some preconceived notion about the schools”, argued Hussain
The order issued by the state says that only those private schools which have been imparting education through online classes or other communication modes during the lockdown period will be allowed to charge “only the tuition fee” and a student cannot be removed from the school if he or she does not pay the fee.
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According to the schools who moved the SC, making optional or voluntary the payment of fees even for those who have attended online classes is very unreasonable.
Their petition says: “The Hon'ble High Court has effectively passed final directions keeping the matter pending only or compliance, and erroneously held that even those students, who are able to access and attend the online classes being offered by the private unaided schools may pay the tuition fee only if they choose to do so".
The petitioners said that the order making payment of fees optional is an infringement of their Fundamental Right mentioned under article 19(1)(g) and cannot be considered as a reasonable restriction. They also contended that the order is breaching the Principle of Natural Justice as Private Schools were not given a chance to defend themselves and concerned boards i.e. CBSE, ICSE and State Board were not even made party of the proceeding.