HC questions TS Govt. on special fee collected by private schools

High Court on Monday questioned Telangana government and its education department over private schools collecting lakhs of rupees as donations and capitation fees, and directed it to file replies to the charges of inaction by the government and fleecing by schools.

A surprised bench comprising of acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale and Justice S V Bhatt asked the state counsel as to “what the state authorities are doing when schools are collecting such exorbitant fee from the parents”. The bench asked the counsel to make all the schools named in her petition as respondents to the plea and issued notices to six such schools.

It must be noted that since the state banned the collection of donations and capitation fees, some schools have invented a new name – a one-time special activity fee – and under this guise, they are collecting exorbitant amount at the time of admission. The bench sought replies from all concerned within two weeks.