Page 14 - EducationWorld May 2021

Education News

DELHI T.M.A. Pai Case. The judges ruled
Landmark fees regulation judgement that government can regulate the

fee determined by managements of
private education institutions only
in cases of profiteering and levy of
capitation fees.
They noted that the state’s FRA
prescribed an elaborate process in
which the fees of schools were de-
termined by SLFCs (school level fees
committees) — drawn from Parent-
Teacher Associations made manda-
tory by FRA 2016 — with the right of
either party to appeal to a divisional
appellate authority and a higher
revision authority. Thus the fees of
every private school in the state have
been agreed to by parents. Moreover
under the rules of the Act the school
fee fixed by the SLFC was binding
for three years on both the parties,
Supreme Court of India: overdue contracts sanctity verdict. Inset: Damodar Goyal i.e. management and parents. This
constituted a binding contract with
A during the academic year and were which the State/government cannot
detailed and brilliantly rea-
interfere.
soned 128-page judgement of
teaching online, their managements
the Supreme Court delivered
The court also noted that insti-
transport and other services to stu-
on May 3, has huge implications had not provided co-curricular or tutional managements determine
for the country’s under-appreciated dents, and therefore parents are not school fees on the basis of invest-
450,000 private schools which — obliged to pay for them. Moreover ment made in over a dozen param-
most people are unaware — host the syllabuses of affiliated schools eters, including infrastructure and
48 percent of India’s 260 million had been truncated by CBSE and the co-curricular and sports education
in-school children. state exam boards and online educa- facilities provided, and after fac-
Upholding two sets of appeals tion was restricted to three-four toring in a reasonable surplus for
filed by the Indian School, Jodhpur hours per day. Therefore, parents re-investment and expansion of
and Association of Private Unaided should pay only 70 percent of the education — expressly sanctioned
Schools of Rajasthan against the contracted tuition fees of their wards by the T.M.A Pai judgement. The
state government, a two judges studying in CBSE affiliated schools learned judges observed that the
bench comprising A.N. Khanwilkar and 60 percent for children in state state government had the option of
and Dinesh Maheshwari JJ, read board affiliated schools paying the remainder 30 percent fees
down, i.e modified, ss. 4, 6, and 10 of This fees reduction order was or directly provide relief to financial-
the Rajasthan Schools (Fees Regula- challenged on the ground that it was ly distressed parents. In any event it
tion) Act, 2016 (FRA). issued without any authority of law has no right to vary the terms of the
The first appeal filed by the peti- and was violative of the fundamental fees contract between schools and
tioners challenged the constitutional right of the petitioners conferred by parents. However with the appellants
validity of several sections of the Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution representing 36,000 private schools
Act. In the second set of appeals they as affirmed by an 11-judges bench of Rajasthan having volunteered to
challenged an order of the state gov- of the apex court in the landmark reduce fees payable for 2020-21 by
ernment — upheld by the high court T.M.A. Pai Foundation vs. Union of 25 perent, the court ruled that a 15
— directing private schools to collect India (2002). percent reduction of 2019-20 fees
only 70 percent of tuition fees — and In its detailed judgement the would serve the interests of justice
no other fees — from parents for the Supreme Court bench held that the and relief to the parents community
academic year 2020-21. The state right to determine the fees payable of Rajasthan.
government had successfully con- by students was vested in every Although the two-judge bench
tended in the high court that since school’s “management alone” by the of the Supreme Court stressed that
all schools had been under lockdown Supreme Court’s judgement in the the ambit of its verdict is restricted

14 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2021