FFRC bars Pvt schools to fix fee structure at ‘sweet will’
Says schools can't take refuge in pending court cases to hike fee structure
Muhammad Adnan
Srinagar: The Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC) has tightened its noose against the private educational institutions for fixing their fee structure at their “sweet will.”
The Chairman FFRC Justice (Retd) Muzaffar Hussain Attar in an order said that the private schools cannot take refuge in pending court cases to fix new fee structure in schools while giving a hike to it.
The FFRC Chairman has said that the committee in May this year asked the schools to submit the record and enable FFRC to regulate their fee structure.
“Some schools submitted the documents and their records were considered by FFRC and fee structure was regulated as well. Files of some schools were found deficient,” the FFRC order reads.
The FFRC order states that the management of some schools were not satisfied with the FFRC orders for the regulation of their fee structure and they approached the Court.
“The Court kept the FFRC order in abeyance which was issued to regulate the fee structure of the schools,” the order reads.
However, the FFRC has received fresh complaints that few schools fixed highly unreasonable and unjust fee structure which the committee said was bound to result in commercialization of education.
“In view of non-submission of proposed fee structure and record to FFRC previously, the fee structure of these schools was not determined and regulated by FFRC in respect of previous academic sessions,” the order reads.
The FFRC order says that some schools have fixed the fee structure themselves in violation of Supreme Court and the High Court judgments.
“This act of such school managements is per se illegal and void ab-initio as fee structure has been fixed in breach of the mandate of the Supreme Court and High Court judgments. Such fee structures cannot be recognized in law,” the FFRC order reads.
The FFRC Chairman in the order has said that the fee structure in some schools was earlier regulated by the committee but they challenged the orders in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh after being unsatisfied with the fee regulation order.
“These schools cannot fix the fee themselves and charge and collect the same from students. The FFRC orders kept in abeyance by the High Court will not authorize school managements to fix fee structure at their sweet will,” the order reads.
It reads that no person can be permitted to abuse and misuse the process of Court to secure a legally impermissible benefit.
“The Court has only stayed fee regulation orders but has not authorised the schools to fix fees of any type themselves,” the order reads.
KV News
