Parents of school-going children in the state are breathing a sigh of relief as the Rajasthan High Court on Thursday stayed an order issued by a single judge, directing schools to deposit only 70% of actual tuition fees. A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court also directed the bench of Chief Justice Inderjit Mahanti and Justice Mahendra Goyal to waive their fees to private schools by 9 October.
A petition filed by advocate Sunil Samadaria is being addressed by the court and the next hearing is scheduled for Monday. The state government, which is also a part of the appeal, said the single bench's decision to collect 70% tuition fees from parents was unfounded.
According to the appellants, the administration of private schools set tuition fees in violation of the RTE Act, disregarding all norms of the fee rules. The claimants argued that private schools did not disclose to the court the amount spent in the schools during the Kovid-19 epidemic. Therefore, the order of single bench should be repealed. Additional Advocate General Rajesh Maharshi, speaking on behalf of the government, mentioned that no school can collect fees from parents, as per the rules promulgated on Thursday.
A single bench of the High Court issued an interim order on 7 September, stating that schools can collect 70% of the tuition fees in 3 installments. Petitions related to this have been submitted by Rajasthan, Society of Catholic Educational Institutions, Progressive School Association and others.
The Rajasthan government has further decided that school time for October will remain unchanged this year and the time for teachers will remain the same till 31 October. Government-funded schools will follow their summer time table, requiring students to attend from 7.30 am to 1 pm.