Allahabad High Court Gives 4-Week Notice to CBSE, ICSE For Filing Response on Excessive Fees Being Charged by Self-Financed Private Schools

Allahabad High Court orders CBSE, ICSE to respond to PIL seeking excessive fees charged by private schools.

Lucknow, April 01: Both Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) have been issued notices by the Allahabad High Court following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which sought to regulate the excessive fees being charged by self-financed private schools. The High Court has given a time period of four weeks to both the Boards for filing their responses. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Abdul Moin passed the order on the PIL.

The PIL which was filed by Laik Ahmed sought the establishment of a Fee Regularity Commission which would fix the fees being charged by the self-financed private schools. In the PIL, Ahmed also asked the Commission to be headed by a retired high court judge. The PIL further read that both the boards had some responsibility and should not back off after giving recognition to a particular school.

Petitioner Ahmed has also said that till the Board came to a decision regarding the school fees being charged by private schools, the Uttar Pradesh government must issue either a circular or an order to keep a check on the fees which would be charged during the 2018-19 academic session.

He said that proposing for such a circular was essential since private schools would then have the fees fixed for the coming academic session and it would not be revised later. Ahmed has also demanded that immediate action is taken by the state government on the said issue. Following the PIL, the court’s Lucknow bench also asked the state government to record its response.

Ahmed who had to say that self-financed private schools who charge a hefty sum, do not even divulge the fee structure on their official website, added that education should not be turned into a money business since it was a fundamental right.

Meanwhile, Ahmed’s lawyer pleaded that the issue of regulation of fees be looked after by the Boards and the state government as it was important. He cited the example of Gujarat, wherein the government enacted a law for regulating the fees and the same was accepted by the Gujarat High Court last year.