Schools across the country increased their tuition fee during the Covid-19 pandemic, which the parents of such school students have now been resenting against.
In a recent order passed by the Allahabad High Court, schools in Uttar Pradesh have been directed to repay, refund or adjust the excess amount of fee charged during the academic year 2020-21 to students.
A petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court by parents of students in the northern state of India, complaining that schools had charged extra tuition fees during the Covid period but no service except online tuition was provided in private schools in the academic year 2020-21.
Petitioners all across the state filed a PIL in the High court complaining against this extra charge imposed by private schools in UP.
After all hearings, the Allahabad High Court ordered all the schools in the northern state to refund or adjust a 15% excess school fee charged during the Covid period in the year 2020-21.
The order was issued by the bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal & Justice JJ Munir on hearing complaints that the additional prices charged were never incurred by the school during the lockdown and the remaining Covid period, stated a Times Now report.
The High Court’s order stated that schools will either have to adjust the 15% excess school fee charged during the aforementioned academic year session or will have to refund it to the students who have already passed out from the schools.
The schools in Uttar Pradesh have been given a total time period of two months to comply with the refund order.
Advocate Shashwat Anand represented and appeared for the petitioning parents. In his plea to the High Court bench, Anand said, “Fees is a matter of quid pro quo. No service except online tuition was provided in private schools in the year 2020-21. Thus, charging even a single rupee over and above the tuition fee by private schools is nothing but profiteering and commercialisation of education.”
