Delhi High Court issues notice in appeals challenging order allowing private unaided schools to collect annual fee

By LE Desk

New Delhi, June 8, 2021: A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has issued notice on a batch of appeals including by the Delhi Government, challenging a single-judge order allowing private unaided recognised schools to collect annual fee and development charges from students for the period after the lockdown lifted in the city.

Meanwhile, a Division Bench of Justice Rekha Palli and the Delhi HC refused to stay the single judge bench order and fixed the matter for July 10 for further hearing, The Economic Times reported.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the Delhi Government (Directorate of Education), argued that the single bench judge order will overburden the parents. According to the calculation, 60 percent tuition fee charged by schools is enough for the teachers’ salaries and other expenses.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan represented the Action committee unaided recognised private schools.

The Delhi Government and various others have filed an appeal against the single-judge order allowing private unaided recognised schools to collect annual and development charges from students for the period after the lockdown lifted in the city.

The single judge recently quashed two office orders of April and August 2020 issued by the Directorate of Education of the Delhi government forbidding and postponing the collection of annual charges and development fee.

Single-Judge bench has said that the Delhi government has no power to indefinitely postpone the collection of annual charges and development fee by private unaided schools.

The Delhi government has submitted that decision was taken in larger public interest keeping aspects of the financial crisis being faced by people due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, which represents 450 private unaided schools, has challenged Delhi Government notifications before the single-judge bench.

The organisation had challenged the two office orders of April and August last year of the DoE on grounds that they curtail the rights of the private unaided recognised schools to fix their own fees.

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