The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday upheld a law that the state Assembly had passed in March to regulate fees charged by private schools, PTI reported. The court said the state legislature had the authority to make laws for education boards.
Various schools, including minority schools and those affiliated to national boards, had filed petitions before the court saying that the state government could not regulate them. The Gujarat Self-Financed Schools (Regulation of Fees) Act came into force in April.
A division bench led by Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy ruled that schools could not indulge in profiteering and that the law should be implemented from 2018, Mint reported.
The law empowers the government to establish fee regulatory committees for self-financed, or private unaided schools in the state. It prescribes an annual fee structure of Rs 15,000 for primary classes, Rs 25,000 for secondary ones, and Rs 27,000 for higher secondary classes. If a school wants to charge more than the specified limit, it will have to approach the committee for permission.
In response to the verdict, the Association of Progressive Schools said: “Now that the judgement has come, we wish the government will ensure that the schools can function smoothly without having to compromise on the quality of school education in Gujarat which has started improving over the last decade.”
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