No stay on implementing fee hike panel's recommendation: HC

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant any interim relief to an association, representing over 400 private schools here, which has challenged the recommendations of a court-appointed panel to review fee hike.
The association, Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, had challenged a single judge order declining to stay the implementation of recommendations of the Justice Anil Dev Singh committee set up to review fee hikes by the private schools to implement the 6th Pay Commission.
Upholding the decision of the single judge, a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Deepa Sharma said the association, by filing a petition in a representative capacity, cannot seek a blanket order against the Directorate of Education (DoE) to restrain it from implementing the panel's order.

The bench said the financial position of each school, represented by the association, would be different and specific recommendations have been made by the panel in each case after examining the records produced before it.
"The prayer made in the appeal for setting aside the impugned order (of the single judge), is therefore, declined. The appeal is dismissed along with the pending application," it said in its August 3 decision.
The single judge in his July 18 order, declining interim relief to the association, had also said that an interim order would be passed only if the parties concerned deposited the entire tuition fee and the development fee, along with an interest of nine per cent per annum, as recommended by the fee hike committee.

The order had come on the association's plea for quashing the recommendations on the ground that the committee did not have the jurisdiction to make such suggestions.

The panel was set up in 2011 by the high court to review the fees charged by private schools in the national capital on the pretext of implementing the 6th Pay Commission.
After examining 1092 private schools, the panel had said that 531 among them had charged excess fee and recommended that it should be refunded with nine per cent interest. It had also recommended special inspection of 247 other schools.
To ensure compliance of the recommendations, the DoE had on May 29 this year issued a notice several defaulting schools, telling them that the failure to refund the excess fees as recommended by the committee could lead to their de-recognition or taking over of their management by the department as per the Delhi School Education Act and Rules of 1973.

The May 29 notice was issued by the DoE after another bench of the high court had asked the department to ensure compliance of the committee's recommendations.