Hyderabad School Parents Association Moves Contempt Petition In High Court Over Education Dept's Alleged Inaction In Regulating Private School Fees

Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) has moved a contempt petition before the Telangana High Court seeking action against the Secretary to State's School Education Department for allegedly wilful non-compliance of its orders for regulation of tuition fee imposed by Private unaided schools.

A Division Bench of Justices Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao admitted the matter and issued notice to Karuna Vakati, the Secretary.

HSPA contended that in 2017, a committee was constituted under the Former Vice Chancellor of Osmania University, Prof. T. Thirupathi Rao to submit a report of recommendations to the Government after studying the tuition fee structure in the Private unaided school. The recommendations submitted by the committee were to help the government enact legislations to regularise the same. Despite that, the government had failed to set any legislation in place.

The Association said absence of a mechanism to regulate fee was giving rise to arbitrary discretion to charged by private unaided schools in Telangana to determine tuition fee and other fee components, which were violative of Article 21A and provisions of Telangana Educational Institutions Act, 1983.

Accordingly, two Government Orders were issued directing all private unaided schools affiliated to the State Boards not to increase any kind of fee for the academic years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 and charge only tuition fee.

The Parents Association had then filed a PIL with grievance that the GOs did not define what would amount to ‘tuition fee’, thereby giving the schools arbitrary discretion to include all sorts of fees under the said head. It was contented that these GOs were counterproductive of their intention.

The Court while disposing off the writs had ordered the Secretary to submit draft Act before the State, after thorough consideration of the recommendations submitted by the Parents Association, Prof. T. Thripupathi Committee and other Schools that were party to the writ, within a period of 3 months.

In March 2022, HSPA approached the court contending that despite judicial orders, no legislation or regulation has been framed.

In her counter, the Secretary said that in accordance with the Court's order meetings were held and recommendations submitted by the parents Association were taken on record. A draft Act governing the regulation for collection of fee by private unaided schools was submitted before the State Government and the same was under consideration. She further said that for any policy formulation, a decision needs to be taken by the Chief Minister and cabinet, which was “not feasible due to prevailing circumstances at this juncture” and requested time for formulating a policy on the fee Structure.

The Court last week ordered for compliance and adjourned the matter for a period of three weeks.

Case Title: Hyderabad School Parents Association vs V. Karuna, IAS