Private schools will need approval to hike fees: HC – Delhi

NEW DELHI: Private unaided schools allotted land by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) cannot hike fees without the government’s permission, the Delhi high court ruled on Tuesday.

The verdict has implications for close to 400 private schools in the city, and comes as a major relief to thousands of parents forced to accept annual fee hikes they are rarely consulted on.

Declaring that “schools cannot indulge in profiteering and commercialisation of education”, a bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Jayant Nath ordered the government’s directorate of education (DoE) to ensure these schools comply with the terms and conditions of their letter of allotment of land regarding fee hikes.

It also directed the DDA to take action in accordance with the law against schools not following the fee fixation rules as per their letter of allotment.

Within hours of the high court order, SK Bhattacharya, president of the Action Committee of Unaided Private Schools, said, “We will soon file a special leave petition with the Supreme Court… as the judgment is against the spirit of the Constitution.”

Maintaining that the 1973 Act gives schools the autonomy to regulate their own fees, Bhattacharya added, “Further, the SC had said in a judgment that private schools enjoy full autonomy.”

Source | Hindustan Times | 20 January 2016

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