NASHIK: Against the backdrop of Corona, the Rajasthan state government has decided to reduce tuition fees by 15%. Similarly, the Supreme Court has given a three-week ultimatum to the state government to cancel the fee hike during the Corona period in Maharashtra. Parents in Maharashtra have been greatly relieved by the court order. The Mumbai High Court had on March 1, 2021 allowed schools across the state to increase fees in the previous academic year.
There was no special relief for the parents. The court had said that not only parents should pay the increased fees but their child should not be expelled from school. However, the court had refused to accede to the parents’ demand that schools be barred from raising fees and reduce school fees as the facilities were not being used during the Corona period. The parents had moved the apex court against the High Court’s decision to increase the fees.
The apex court has directed the Maharashtra government to take a decision on the applications received within three weeks. In doing so, the order states that the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of the State of Rajasthan should be upheld. Therefore, a positive decision is likely to be made in favour of the parents. Meanwhile, 15 parents have filed a petition in the Supreme Court.
The parents of Nilesh Salunkhe, Pradip Yadav, Harish Wagh, Rajesh Badankhe, Rupesh Jaiswal and Kamran Sheikh from Nashik have been registered as petitioners. Adv. Mayank Kshirsagar is overseeing the work with Siddharth Shankar Sharma and Adv. Pankhudi Gupta is cooperating.
15% reduction in fees possible
For Rajasthan, the Supreme Court has ordered to deduct 15 per cent of the fee for the academic year 2019-20 and levy it for the academic year 2020-21. This has paved the way for the repeal of last year’s tariff hike in Maharashtra. At the same time, the state government has been given the power to reduce the previous year’s fees by 15 per cent and make the remaining fees compulsory for schools.
“As per the order of the Supreme Court, we will file the application to the State Government on the advice of our lawyers. On which the state government will be bound to take a decision within 21 days. So if the decision is not made like in Rajasthan. So the Maharashtra government will be fully responsible for it.” – Nilesh Salunkhe, President, Nashik Parents Association
