Supreme Court says States cannot impinge on autonomy of private unaided schools
The Hindu
SC verdict in plea against Rajasthan govt. directive to reduce fee in view of pandemic
The Supreme Court on Monday held that States cannot impinge on the autonomy of private unaided schools to fix and collect ‘just’ and ‘permissible’ school fees from parents, especially in the name of the pandemic. “It is one thing to say the State may regulate the fee structure of private unaided schools to ensure that the school management does not indulge in profiteering and commercialisation, but in the guise of exercise of that power, it cannot transcend the line of regulation and impinge upon the autonomy of the school to fix and collect ‘just’ and ‘permissible’ school fees from its students,” a Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari said in a 128-page judgment. The judgment, which would help schools retain their autonomy in deciding their fee structure, came on the basis of a series of appeals filed by private unaided schools in Rajasthan against government notifications to defer collection of fees, including reduction limited to 70% of tuition fees by schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education and 60% from the schools affiliated to the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, in view of the reduction of syllabus by the respective Boards due to the aftermath of the pandemic (lockdown) from March 2020.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.