Fee hike issue: HC stays govt notification to conduct PTA

New Delhi Thursday, Apr 30 2009 IST
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The Delhi High Court today stayed the Delhi Government's April 16 notification suggesting conduct of parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings to resolve the issue of fee hike.
A division bench of Justices A K Sikri and Suresh Kait directed the Delhi Government to withdraw its notification saying it "will interfere with the working of school adminstration." Directorate of Education (DoE), under the Govt of NCT (Delhi Govt) by its notification dated April 16, had directed all the schools
to hold meetings with the parents within 30 days in their respective schools and allowed the schools to go ahead with the fee hikeif it was approved by PTA.
Meanwhile, a school "Faith Academy", based in Prasad Nagar (Central Delhi), has intervened in the main petition stating that being a Christian unaided minority school it did not come within the ambit of instructions issued by the Delhi government. Therefore, it sought exemption from the notification issued by the Delhi government.
In its petition filed in the High Court, Mr M Qayam-Ud-Din, lawyer for Faith Academy, contended before the court that under the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and Delhi School Education Rules 1973, the minority schools can be run by its own management
and the government cannot interfere in its running he said.
The court admitted the petition of the minority school and fixed May 25 as next date for hearing.
The court was hearing a petition filed by a group of parents -- Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh -- which said the fee hike by private schools was violative of the recent recommendations given by the 'Ganguly Committee' and over rules the child's fundamental rights to basic education.
The parents appealed for quashing of the official notification on school fee hike, recommended by the S C Bansal Committee set up by the Delhi government last year, and rolling back the fee hike immediately as it was causing undue strain on the parents.
The Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, aided by NGO Social Jurist, has challenged the DoE notification on the grounds that it violates the orders of the High Court and the Supreme Court that the accounts of each school be examined before they are allowed to raise the fee. On the other hand, the schools have been demanding up to 50 per cent tuition fee hike in order to implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations to provide teachers salaries and arrears. The DoE has created five slabs on the basis of the existing tuition fee in schools, allowing them a maximum fee hike of Rs 500.
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