Delhi HC stays Government order on school fee panels
The Delhi High Court on Saturday deferred the implementation of the city Government’s mandate to private schools to constitute School-Level Fee-Regulation Committees (SLFRCs) for the upcoming academic session.
A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said during the pendency of the petitions challenging the Government decision, the constitution of the SLFRCs shall remain in abeyance, and the schools shall be entitled to collect the same fees for the academic year 2026-2027 as they did in the previous academic year. Any exorbitant fees, the bench added, shall be regulated in accordance with law.
The bench passed the order on pleas moved by several school associations seeking a stay on a February 1 notification of the Delhi Government that asked the schools to set up the SLFRCs within 10 days.
The petitioners include the Delhi Public School Society, Action Committee Unaided Recognised Private Schools, The Forum of Minority Schools, Forum for Promotion of Quality Education for All, Rohini Educational Society and Association of Public Schools.
The court said the fees for the upcoming session are unlikely to be fixed for each of the schools before April 1 in terms of the timelines provided in the February 1 notification.
