Punjab: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the private schools in Punjab can charge 70 per cent of the school fee from students in the academic session 2020-21.
Further, it allowed the schools to charge fee in two installments in six months.
The order passed by Justice Ritu Bhari reads, “Keeping in view the present circumstances, interim direction is being given that the admission fee which is paid one time by the parents, shall be paid in two equal installments in six months and the 70 per cent of the total school fee will be charged from the parents of the students.”
The bench also directed the schools to pay 70 per cent salary to the teachers.
Managements of different schools along with Independent Schools’ Association had challenged the Punjab School Education Board order asking the schools to only charge tuition fee and not building charges, transportation charges and those for meals.
Schools’ counsel Ashish Chopra contended that both the conditions are contradictory as parents are to be given concession in the school fee, and the schools are being asked not to reduce the salaries of teachers.
“Private schools deposit funds to the government under ‘Reserved Fund’, with a total corpus of Rs 77 crore at present. But schools are not being helped by government even for sanitisation,” Chopra was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
The Court in the order asked the state counsel to come up with ways as to how the state can help the private schools with the ‘Reserved Fund’.
The next date of hearing is June 12.
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