Commercialisation of education cannot be allowed: HC

Updated on: Sunday, August 14, 2011

The Delhi High Court said fee structure has to be kept within bound and schools cannot be permitted to take undue benefits by commercialising the education.

"The clear legal position which emerges ..., directly on the issue of revising tuition fee by Delhi schools under the Delhi Education Act, and already stated in detail above, demonstrates the schools cannot indulge in commercialisation of education, which would mean that the fee structure has to be kept within bound so as to avoid profiteering," a bench of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Siddharth Mridul.

However, the court said that on the other hand reasonable surplus should be permitted to the school as such fund may be required for development of various activities there.

"At the same time, reasonable surplus is permissible as fund in the form of such surplus may be required for development of various activities in the schools for the benefit of students themselves," it said.

The court's remarks came in a judgement delivered on a PIL seeking withdrawal of fee hike by un-aided private schools here which, as per the CAG reports, are earning huge profits.

The bench also cited various apex court judgements and expressed the need to form a regulatory body to monitor the fees charged by the institutions.

"The guiding principle, in the process, is to strike a balance between autonomy of such institutions and measures to be taken in avoiding commercialisation of education," it said.

The court said the autonomy of schools can be safeguard by giving them freedom to hike the fee structure but, at the same time, the quantum of fee to be charged by unaided schools must be subject to Department of Education (DoE)'s regulation.

"The DoE can step in and interfere if hike in fee by a particular school is found to be excessive and perceived as 'indulging in profiteering'. It would be a procedure to be resorted to routinely," the bench said.

Commercialisation of education cannot be allowed: HC

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