Government seeks clarification on fee order

CHENNAI: The TN government has moved the Madras High Court with a miscellaneous plea seeking certain clarifications with regard to its order passed on May 3 last, by which it has set aside the individual orders of the School Fee Determination Committee, headed by Justice K Raviraja Pandian.In its May 3 order, a division bench, besides setting aside the individual orders of the panel fixing a ceiling for collection of fees by private minority and non-minority schools, had permitted only the petitioner schools, numbering nearly 400, to collect 15 per cent over and above the fee fixed by the panel.The plea for clarification arose because of certain newpapers carrying the news in a distorted way with regard to the permission to collect 15 per cent extra, the petition said. The petition wanted the court to make it mandatory that the schools covered by the judgment should display in the notice board, the details of its writ petition number, the fee earlier fixed and the revised fee to be collected by virtue of the May 3 order. The schools should issue receipt for the fees and it should be made applicable only for the academic year 2012-13.  Schools which were not covered under the judgment should collect the fee in accordance with the fee determined by the panel, the petition said.