CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday informed the Madras High Court that the government order passed by the state only restrains private schools and colleges from forcibly collecting fees from parents. It does not prevent parents from paying fees voluntarily.
The court was hearing a plea moved by private school associations and colleges who have challenged the order prohibiting them from collecting fees.
The counsel representing private schools argued that the state government wants institutions to pay the salaries of the teachers without collecting fees from the students.
In response, advocate general Vijay Narayan submitted that the state has already disbursed Rs 248.79 crore to private institutions towards reimbursement for 25% seats allotted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which can be utilised in paying the fees to the teachers for the next few months.
"We have to consider the plight of parents who have lost their livelihood due to the pandemic lockdown," he said.
Recording the submissions, Justice R Mahadevan directed the Federation of Association of Private School and All India Private Educational Institutions Association members to file a detailed report on the process of collecting fees in instalments for a while without affecting parents and their children.
The court also directed the state to consider the report to be submitted by the association and inform the court by July 6.