Govt told to file counter on plea not to implement C'tee orde

Updated on: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Madras High Court directed Tamil Nadu Government to file a counter to petitions seeking to forebear authorities from implementing the Private Schools Fees Determination Committee order as it was decided without calling for the proposed fee structure of school Managements.

Last year Federation of Association of Private Schools and others had filed petitions seeking an order to call for the committee's order dated May 7 2010 and quash it as illegal.

They had also sought an order to forbear authorities from implementing fees fixed by the committee without calling for the proposed fee structure of the schools.

When the petitions came up for hearing today before the first bench, comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam,Advocate General A Navaneethakrishnan sought time to file a counter, following which the Bench posted the matter for hearing to July 5.

Tamil Nadu had passed the Tamil Nadu Schools (Regulation of Collection Fee) Act 2009 to determine fees. Schools had filed petitions challenging the Act's validity on various grounds.

The High Court had passed order on March 11 2009, upholding the Act's validity but struck down some provisions and issued certain directions. After disposal of the petitions and laying down the procedure of fee determination, the Committee passed the impugned order on May 7 2010, fixing the fee structure

The petitioners said no institution was asked to place their proposed fee as per the Act or as per judgment of the Bench. Even the proposed reasonable surplus was not sought to be placed before the committee.

They also submitted that committee passed inpidual orders. In many schools fees were fixed at a nominal level of Rs 10 to 3000 per year at nursery level, while it was meagre in modern schools. This made it unviable for institutions to continue running schools or paying teachers, they said.

Govt told to file counter on plea not to implement C'tee orde

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