Parents knock on court’s doors after TN govt allows private schools, colleges to collect fees

Parents knock on court’s doors after TN govt allows private schools, colleges to collect fees

By Harish Murali| Express News Service | Published: 10th July 2020 07:25 PM  

CHENNAI: A day after the state informed the Madras High Court that it has allowed private educational institutions to collect fees in three instalments during the lockdown period, a section of parents on Friday knocked the doors of the court opposing the state’s decision. The parents submitted that the state has taken the decision without consulting parents.

An urgent mention on Friday was made before Justice N Anand Venkatesh who was scheduled to hear the case of private schools and colleges seeking to permit them to collect fees for the pandemic lockdown period.

The state on Thursday submitted that it has allowed private colleges to collect fees in three equal instalments for the present academic year in August 2020, December 2020 and April 2021.

Advocate M Purushothaman representing the parents submitted that the claim made by the private institutions that the lockdown has completely hurt their finances and they are unable to pay their staff is unacceptable.

He further stated, “As per the laws of the Central Board of Secondary Education, each of the non-government educational institutions is supposed to maintain 15 percent of their fees collected from students as reserve funds. Such reserve funds should be spent only during such emergency situations, which is sufficient to pay salaries of staff.”

However, the institutions are now being permitted to collect the entire fees in three instalments. “Only the salary component of the staff has to be collected even if allowed,” he argued.

It is the parents of students who are the most affected lot and the government has taken a decision without consulting them, contended Purushothaman.

The judge recording the urgent mention in the video conference soon made the counsel for the parents submit their representation to the advocate general. The judge clubbed the batch of pleas and adjourned the petition to July 17 for further hearing for association advt Vijayananth. Argued. All India educational institue general srcretry