Kolkata schools keep close watch on Supreme Court fee order

KOLKATA: A Supreme Court order on Monday over why schools should desist from charging 100% fees during the pandemic months got city schools consulting lawyers about how the order would impact them.
Monday’s order by the division bench of justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari was keenly studied by city schools though it was given in the context of a hearing about fees in private unaided schools in Rajasthan. More than 145 city schools have approached the SC against a Calcutta High Court order in October 2020 that asked schools to offer a 20% waiver in tuition fees for the pandemic months since classes are all happening online, without the use of physical premises.
The hearing of this appeal is pending but school heads felt Monday’s order could be a reference point when the next hearing takes place.
The difference between Bengal and many other states is that no fee regulation act is in place here. Hence, the state government does not have much say in the fee structures of unaided schools.
The Supreme Court in its order on Monday reminded schools that they should give a 15% reduction in fees during the pandemic months since many facilities were not used by the children and the schools have saved substantially on heads such as electricity, maintenance costs, water charges etc. The SC reminded schools that not passing on these benefits to parents might be called profiteering.
La Martiniere schools, Birla High School, South Point, MP Birla, Shikshayatan and many other schools said on Monday that they were studying the order but since they had already allowed a reduction of 20% to parents, they had nothing to worry. “The order clearly says that 15% reduction is to be given. Such am arrangement will not affect the fee collection for the 2021-22 session,” said lawyer Sourav Bhagat of Fox and Mandal, who is representing a large number of city schools.
Many city schools have revised fees for the 2021-22 session and a percentage of hike has been woven in from April 2021 fees itself. Schools said that they were asked not to revise fees in 2020 and give a 20% reduction and the courts had not mentioned anything about a fee revision in 2021-22. “The order is a closure of sorts and para 117 of the order clearly says that it is relevant to fee of 2020-21 and not for 2021-22 and therefore restricts the concessions/relaxations to the last academic year. So there is finality in this order,” said Krishna Damani, spokesperson of South Point School.
Parents bodies felt that this order is a shot in the arm for them. “Schools are misinterpreting orders. No order is restricted to 20-21, they are relevant to the current months as well,” said Vineet Ruia, who has been leading parents on several forums.