School fee hike: A repeat of the 2020 saga in India

Representative image: AP

The tussle between schools and parents over fees continues for a second successive year.

While schools across the country have resumed this year's academic session via e-learning amid the subsiding second wave of COVID-19 infections, it is a repeat of last year's relentless scrimmage over the payment of school fees for fully online classes.

A slew of petitions have been filed across courts in India seeking reprieve from any fee increases in the 2021 academic year, citing that classes are being held online, and therefore there was no justification for jacking up prices.

In 2020, a series of decisions on fee hikes were given by the Delhi, Madras, Gujarat and the Calcutta high courts. They had asked schools to be considerate towards the financial constraints faced by students' families.

Several state governments like Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana, Maharashtra and West Bengal had instructed schools not to hike fees for the 2020-21 academic sessions. Schools have also been prohibited from removing students from online classes.

What is the issue all about?

Since classes are being held online, parents want schools to reduce fees and not remove students from digital classes, citing the pandemic.

The state governments had also advised schools to be considerate.

In Rajasthan, the government had even asked private schools to forego 30 percent of the tuition fees during COVID-19. But these unaided private schools moved the Supreme Court (SC) against the order.

In a May 2021 decision, the SC said that while schools should be considerate towards students and parents, the state government did not have the mandate to force schools to reduce fees.

The bench said that it would be the responsibility of the schools to schedule payments in such a way that students are not left out of the education system.

Parents, however, are of the view that schools are not sensitive to their needs.

Taresh Choudhary, the parent of 14-year-old Navya in Jaipur, Rajasthan, said that his daughter's school insisted that the fees should be paid in two instalments.

"The annual fee is close to Rs 55,000 and not all parents can afford it this year due to job losses and pay cuts. Schools must show some concern and allow payment over multiple instalments," he suggested.

Thirty-seven-year-old Malathi Suresh, whose 11-year-old daughter studies in a Chennai-based private school, said that her school went so far as to collect building development fees despite the institution being shut.

"Why should we make these additional payments? The school had also included bus fees in the annual charges but removed it after parents protested," he added.

Schools, on the other hand, said that they continue to incur expenses, including teachers' salary and digital infrastructure.

Dhanbad’s Bal Bhavan Vidya Mandir has 190 students enrolled in Classes IX-XII. However, school chairman Manoj Sinha, told Moneycontrol that that only 40 percent of students have paid the full Rs 75,000 while the rest have given half or even less.

"If parents don't pay fees, how do we pay salaries to our staff? We also need to undertake some repair activities so that classrooms are ready. Who will fund these costs?" he queried.

On an average, private schools incur annual expenses of about Rs 3-5 crore, depending on the size and number of students. The most prominent costs include staff salaries (55 percent), stationery (10 percent), electricity expenses (20 percent) and school maintenance, including buildings and playgrounds (20 percent).

In 2020 and so far in 2021, schools have gained only on electricity expenses and stationery costs. Since classes are still being conducted online, staff salaries were paid as usual, in addition to the maintenance activities in school premises, which is considered routine.

What have the courts said?

In states like Maharashtra, there are fee regulation committees being set up in places like Pune to address the concerns of parents and school management. These committees are expected to iron out differences on the question of payment of fees and its different components.

Karnataka is also planning a similar fee regulation committee, beginning this academic year.

Meanwhile, schools in the state have declared that they don't have any plans to reduce school fees in 2021.

Parents have also sought a stay on payment of development fees for schools during the lockdown.

The Delhi High Court had allowed schools to collect such fees.

In response to this Delhi HC order, the Delhi government filed a plea in the apex court seeking a reprieve. However, the Supreme Court said in an order on June 28 that schools cannot be barred from collecting these payments, upholding the Delhi HC order on this matter.

No consolidated order has been passed on the matter of fee hikes so far. The ball is in the schools' court, once again.