LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the
Allahabad high court has issued a notice to
CBSE and ICSE boards to file their response within four weeks on a PIL seeking control on self-financed
private schools charging
exorbitant fees. It also asked the state government to place its response. The matter would come up for next hearing after service of notices to the two boards.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Abdul Moin passed the order on the PIL filed by one Laik Ahmad. The PIL has demanded establishment of a Fee Regularity Commission to regulate fees charged by the private schools.
‘Schools can’t run just to make money’
The PIL sought direction to the two boards to use their powers to control private schools in fixing the fees as their responsibility does not end after granting recognition to run the school.
In view of delay in passing the proposed legislation to be tabled in the UP legislature, the petitioner had also sought that till the said enactment is passed by the legislature, the state government should be directed to issue some circular or order to have control on fees to be charged during 2018-19 session, otherwise private schools would make the excuse that they had already fixed fees for the current session and hence it cannot be revisited. The petitioner pleaded that in Gujarat, the government enacted a law in 2017 to regulate fees. The Act was affirmed by the Gujarat high court. Similarly, a legislation is in the pipeline in UP, but it would take time and meanwhile the new session has approached.
The PIL stated that private schools are charging exorbitant fees. Pleading that education is a fundamental right of a child, the PIL said that schools cannot be allowed to run for only moneymaking.
