10 schools in Gautam Budh Nagar served notices for not refunding fees

NOIDA: Nearly 70 schools in Gautam Budh Nagar have not returned fees yet, said Dharamvir Singh, the district inspector of schools (DIOS) on Wednesday. On Tuesday, a show cause notice was issued to 10 CBSE schools across the district on the matter.
According to the guidelines issued by the HC on January 16, all private schools in the state have to adjust 15% fee charged during Covid year 2020-21 in subsequent sessions and reimburse the same to students, who have left the school or passed out. The HC had ordered that the refund should be initiated within two months of issuing the order.
"The Allahabad high court order on fee refund came on January 16, this year. The last day to provide an update on the same was March 6. However, for schools that have not initiated the process yet, this can be considered contempt of court," Singh told TOI.
The notice sent to 10 CBSE schools read, "It is clear that the time limit of the said order has been completed as of 06-03-2023. But even after repeated instructions, the order of the Hon'ble High Court of Allahabad is not being followed by you, which is clearly a case of contempt of the Hon'ble High Court. Why shouldn't a contempt case be filed against you in the Hon'ble High Court? In relation to the above, you should ensure that your written explanation is made available in the undersigned's office by April 21, 2023."
Parents have welcomed this move by the DIOS.
"Despite the court's orders and subsequent orders from the chief minister, there are many schools that don't want to follow this order and are purposely delaying the refund process," said K Arunachalam, the general secretary of the All Noida Parent Association.
Meanwhile, the DIOS maintained that further inspections will be carried out to identify more such schools that have not refunded the fees yet.