International unaided schools move court over fee hike ban

23 Jun 2009, 0147 hrs IST, Swati Deshpande, TNN
MUMBAI: School
education issues are all set to dominate matters before the Bombay high court this week. Even as a flurry of writs is still being
filed by parents of students in ICSE and CBSE schools against the state's controversial 90% SSC reservations for junior college admissions, an association of international schools in the city has also moved the HC to challenge the state-imposed blanket ban on fee hikes. The schools-which attract children of well heeled parents seeking international curriculum-contend that the ban is illegal and unconstitutional. Sixteen schools, run by private unaided managements offering education under affiliation from boards such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, and the International Baccalaureate, Geneva, Switzerland, including the Jankidevi Public School, Singapore International School, Utpal Sanghvi School, Poddar World and B D Somani International School, have filed a petition against the state's government resolution to prevent fee hike. The GR issued on May 8 has prevented all private unaided schools in the state from increasing fees for the academic years 2009-10 till a proposed fee committee is set up. "The GR threatens all such private unaided schools with cancellation of the no-objection certification. Therefore, their very existence is in gross violation of the guarantee under the Constitution to establish and run private schools, said the petition filed through law firm, Nankani & Associates. The petition, filed last Friday, will come up for hearing on June 26. The association has alleged a clear political motive behind the fee hike ban. "The GR not only violates the landmark ruling and law declared by the 11-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the TMA Pai case permitting greater autonomy to private colleges for charging fees, but it is clearly a political move with eyes on the forthcoming state elections. The ban is "arbitrary and with no legal authority and would take the autonomy of all private unaided schools in violation of the constitutional guarantee'', the petition said. It was a challenge to fees raised by Balbharti Public school, Kharghar that led to the ban. A statement was made by the government lawyer in the Balbharti School case that the state would issue instructions to the school not to implement its fee hike. The HC, had then directed the state to prohibit fee hike in all educational institutions from nursery to junior college till a committee is formed by the state. "The restriction is not only unreasonable but destroys the very essence of autonomy. Besides the state has no power to either approve or disappove the fees being charged by unaided schools,'' the petition stated.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/International-unaided-schools-move-court-over-fee-hike-ban/articleshow/4689734.cms