Schools have been closed since last year due to the Corona outbreak. Due to which students were being taught online. However, schools across the country are charging full fees every year. The apex court has ordered the schools to reduce their fees.
A bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said that educational institutions should be aware that the Corona crisis has created a serious situation for the people. Students and their parents should also be give provided some relief. The bench directed the schools to provide deduction of 15 per cent on that amount in in lieu of unutilised facilities by the students during the relevant period of academic year 2020-21.
Charging fees for facilities that schools cannot provide to students at present is like profiteering. Since the school has not started, the cost of the school has been saved to a large extent. Expenses on electricity, petrol, diesel, maintenance cost, water charges, sanitation charges, etc. have been saved, the court said.
The Rajasthan government had ordered schools to reduce fees by 30 per cent. Private schools had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the order. It said the state government had no authority to issue such orders.
The Supreme Court Monday directed 36,000 private unaided schools of Rajasthan to charge 15 per cent less annual fees from students in academic session 2020-21 and made clear that no students be barred from attending virtual or physical classes and their results be not held up due to non-payment of fees.
Parents have often protested against the school fees. Schools charged them like school vans even when the school was not started, even when the students were not using it. There was resentment among parents against this. The parents have been relieved by the Supreme Court order.The court has ordered schools in Rajasthan to reduce school fees by 15 per cent.