A PIL against UT order to pay school fee in lockdown blogTricity

A PIL against UT order to pay school fees in lockdown is filed by advocate Pankaj Changothia. It is filed in Punjab and Haryana High Court. PIL is a litigation for the welfare of the public interest. The High Court and Supreme Court entertains the Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

A PIL against UT order to pay school fees in lockdown is filed by advocate Pankaj Changothia. Click To Tweet

Due to nationwide lockdown, the schools have been shut for the past few months. Consequently, the schools are conducting online classes for the students.

Table of Contents

The Order by Education Department

Recently, the schools notified parents to deposit the school fee till May 31. On the basis of an order given by the education department. The fee is demanded by the unaided private schools of the city.

The parents must deposit the fees for two months( April and May) all together.

Challenges faced by teachers

Most of the teachers are facing a lack of teaching material, lack of in-service training, and technical issues. The teachers are facing a lack of cooperation from the parents and sometimes misbehavior of students too.

Despite all such challenges teachers are conducting online classes under the guidance of school administrations. The administration must also consider the salaries of teachers.

The PIL

The advocate pleads for the remission of all other charges except tuition fees. The PIL demands the rescheduling of the last date of fee submission. The plaint requests reschedule for the period of April to June, to September 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The litigation argues that most of the schools are conducting online classes so as to justify their school fees and their demand for the same.

The advocate states that the order by the educational department is an arbitral order. The arbitral orders have a binding effect on the parties yet they can be challenged in the court. Under the order it is mandatory for the parents to deposit the school fees of two months (April and May) till May 31. This order is impossible to comply with as it does not go along with lockdown being in force.

As a result of nationwide lockdown parents are not financially stable enough to pay the school fees. The PIL pleads the court to make it easier for the parents to pay the school fees of their children.

The Protest

After the order given by the educational department, some parents held a protest outside a school in Sector-44 Chandigarh. The parents reported that the school made an increase in school fees despite knowing that parents are going through salary cut-offs. The lockdown 4.0 will remain till May 31, making it difficult for parents to pay the fees.

The PIL filed will come up for hearing shortly in Punjab and Haryana High Court.

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Photo: Internet