Delhi CBSE School Fees Reduction Plea in High Court

CBSE School Fees Reduction Plea
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A plea has been filed in Delhi High Court seeking refund from Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for the class X and Class XII board examinations, which were cancelled this year in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
The plea filed by a lawyer stated that parents paid a fixed amount to the board as examination fee for students to appear in the examinations.

Taking note of the prevailing Covid-19 situation across the country, the boards for Class X were cancelled on April 14, those for Class XII were cancelled on June 1.

Parents Could Get Refunded

Urging the court to intervene so that parents could get refunded, the plea gave a break-up of the examination fee levied and argued that it was meant for expenses incurred by CBSE in conducting a physical examination, such as payment to invigilators, organising examination centres, etc.

Since the examinations had been cancelled, the board did not have to incur any of these expenses, the plea argued, saying that the money should be refunded. It also pointed out that, since lakhs of students were slated to take the two board examinations across the country, the money collected by CBSE ran into crores, which it has kept without any justification.

The plea also wanted CBSE to have a clear refund policy when examinations were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances or emergencies.

15% Reduction On Total School Fees

From the side of Delhi Private School fees have been reduced by 15%. On May 31, 2021, Delhi High Court had directed the schools to collect annual charges and development fees in six instalments starting from June 10, 2021. But the final charges must be only after applying a 15% reduction on total school fees.

The decision to reduce the school fees has been taken in lieu of facilities not used by students during the lockdown. On July 1, 2021, all those 460 private schools that filed the petition have been asked to cut their fees by 15%. The issued order will be applicable for the academic year 2021.

The official statement on Delhi Private School fees says, “In order to clear the confusion and give much-needed relief to parents. Delhi government has issued an official order for private schools to charge fees on a monthly basis, under approved heads only but with a 15% reduction in the fees for the academic year 2021.” More related information can be obtained on the official website of Directorate of Education, edudel.nic.in.

Delhi Private School Fees

Guidelines to Delhi Private School Fees

    • 1) Schools can charge fees only on a monthly basis.
    • 2) Schools cannot charge any transportation fee.
    • 3) Schools must collect fees quarterly.
    • 4) Schools cannot increase their fees for this academic session until further orders.

Apart from 460 petitioner private schools, other schools cannot charge annual and development fees. The remaining schools will follow DOE orders issued in April and August last year. The Directorate of Education (DoE) has also asked schools not to debar any student from ongoing activities if the parents are unable to pay the fee.
Parents are advised to check the official website of DoE to get more details on Delhi Private School fees.