Pvt schools seek TN nod to collect 70% of fee

Pvt schools seek TN nod to collect 70% of fee

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.07.2020

Private educational institutions have requested the Tamil Nadu government to permit them to collect 70% of the annual fee payable by students in three installments during the lockdown period.

“Various associations of private institutions have made representations to the state seeking permission to collect 70% of the annual fee so they would be in a position to pay salaries of staff and take care of the maintenance costs,” advocategeneral Vijay Narayan informed the Madras high court.

Narayan made the submission in response to a public interest writ petition moved by E Gopalakrishnan seeking direction to the state to restrain private educational institutions from demanding fee from parents.

He added that a single judge of the court was already seized of a batch of petitions filed by associations of the institutions, challenging the government order restraining them from collecting fees during lockdown. The single judge has passed an interim order directing the government to consider the representation of the institutions and come up with a solution by July 8, Narayan said.

Recording the submissions, a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy adjourned the hearing to July13.

According to the petitioner, though the state has prohibited institutions from demanding fees during the lockdown period, most schools and colleges are insisting that parents pay the fees.

Citing various news reports that highlighted the issue, counsel for the petitioner Balaji Thirumoorthy submitted that such actions are nothing but violations which are punishable under the Disaster Management Act. “The educational officers of the state are empowered under the Act to initiate criminal action against such violators,” Balaji said.

Therefore, the petitioner wanted the court to direct the state authorities to ensure strict implementation of the GO passed under the Disaster Management Act. On June 23, while admitting the pleas moved by associations of institutions challenging the restriction, a single judge of the court wondered as to how the state could expect private schools and colleges to pay salaries to their staff if they are prohibited from collecting even minimum fees.

Advocate-general Vijay Narayan told the Madras high court that private institutions wanted to collect 70% of annual fee to cover staff salaries and maintenance costs