Govt to set up panel to examine school fee hike within a week | Kalvimalar - News

Govt to set up panel to examine school fee hike within a week- 10-Sep-2011

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New Delhi: The city government informed the Delhi High Court that it will set up within a week a panel headed by a former justice to examine the hikes in tuition fees by various unaided private schools and to audit their accounts.

Appearing for the Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE), counsel Avnish Ahlawat informed the bench of justices A K Sikri and Siddharth Mridul that the Directorate would issue a notification within a week to set up the panel.

The court was hearing an application by Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh seeking a direction to the government to "forthwith issue a notification for constituting the Anil Dev Singh Committee" as per the court's earlier order.

Earlier, the same bench on August 12, had ordered to set up a three-member committee headed by Justice Singh to scrutinise the accounts of unaided private schools here.

It had also said the committee will also determine the validity of the government's 2009 notification allowing schools to hike tuition fees.

Ashok Agarwal, counsel for Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, had moved the application for constitution of the committee, aggrieved by the government's "inaction" in forming the panel. The bench had said the committee would audit accounts of schools, including minority institutions, to ascertain the genuineness of hike in fees.

"If the committee finds that the hike was not required, the schools are bound to return the money to students with 9 per cent interest," it had said in a 143-page verdict.

The court had made it clear the government notification, allowing fees hike would be treated as an interim measure which would be subject to scrutiny by the committee.

It had also suggested the government create a permanent regulatory authority, either by amending the Education Act or by enacting a new legislation, to resolve the issue of periodic hike in tuition fee.

The bench had given its order on a PIL alleging that despite CAG's indictment of 25 private schools for accounting malpractices, including faking losses, the city government has allowed them to hike tuition fee.