Schools’ association files case against five parents

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 19

In an unprecedented move, an educational society, which manages private schools in Mohali, Panchkula and Chandigarh, has filed a legal case against five parents for not paying fee despite their wards attending regular online classes.

The Independent Schools Association (ISA), Chandigarh, said that the UT Administration should clarify its stand on the issue of charging fee to avoid making such cases an example for future.

Reports suggested that the five parents, who allegedly failed to pay fee, were served legal notice. As they failed to submit reply, society filed a case in the district courts. The hearing is scheduled on December 9.

“The UT Administration should come up with clarity on the issue of schools charging fees. It’s been eight to nine months that the UT Administration is just passing the buck. They want us to open schools, but are not ready to listen to our problems,” said HS Mamik, president, ISA.

“To stop such precedent (legal cases), the Administration should make clear if schools can charge full fee and if not the reason behind it. When the MHA has opened almost everything, we have been asked to follow old notifications,” he added.

“The case was filed by a Sector 32-based school. The school authorities alleged that parents did not even bother to pay the tuition fee as ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The hearing of this case is scheduled for the next month,” said a source privy to the matter.

Last month, the ISA had claimed that the UT Administration had issued no directives as to whether parents should start paying full fee or not. Around 80,000 to 90,000 students are enrolled in local private schools. The Administration had asked parents to pay only tuition fee since the imposition of lockdown. After the MHA allowed phased opening of almost everything, local schools wanted that the UT Administration should come up with a concrete plan to give clarity on this issue.

The ISA maintained that schools, their staff, functionaries and other attached to institutions had to bear huge losses due to non-payment of fee during the pandemic.