HC issues notice to committee of school for flouting orders

Srinagar, Jul 9 : Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a contempt notice to an organisation of private schools for wrong interpretation of its orders over charging of fees for the months of September-October last year during which educational institutions were closed due to floods.

The notice was issued yesterday to G N Var of Joint Committee of Private Schools (JCPS) for claiming that the High Court had allowed the schools to charge all kinds of fees, including for the September-October period, despite the court directions to the contrary.

JCPS, in a statement on Monday, said the schools will "go by the High Court order which has given them liberty to collect all types of fees as in August 2014."

After last year's floods, the court issued directions to all the schools not to charge tuition and bus fee from students for the September and October.

And if any school had already charged the fee, the court directed that the same may be adjusted in the future months.

While disposing of a PIL, the court last month also directed schools not to increase the tuition fee as well as bus fee and charge it as in vogue in August last year, until it was decided by the panel.

The PIL filed by parents' body had also charged that schools with fleecing them by selling books, stationery and identity cards to students at exorbitant costs.

The counsel for the petitioner said the management of private schools not only started pressurising the students to pay the fees for the two months but also enhanced it exorbitantly.

PTI