Allahabad HC directs schools to provide 15% refund on fees charged during Covid in 2020-21 session

PRAYAGRAJ: Allahabad High Court has directed all schools in Uttar Pradesh to provide a 15 per cent rebate on the total fees charged during the Covid period in 2020-21.

All schools in the state will have to calculate 15 per cent of the total fees charged during the 2020-21 academic year and adjust it in the next session, the court said in its order dated January 6.

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Students who have left schools can claim a refund of 15 per cent on the fees paid by them during the session. Disposing of a PIL, a division bench of Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice JJ Munir granted the schools two months to complete the process.

The petitions, filed during the COVID-19 pandemic, raised the issue regarding the demand for school fees and other charges. The main grievance raised by the petitioners was that certain facilities were not provided during the pandemic and hence they were not liable to pay for those. The expenses incurred were not commensurate to the physical classes held in schools.

For this process, the High Court has given time of 2 months to all the schools. All the petitions were heard on January 6, 2023 and the decision has come today, on January 16, 2023. Hence, they are not liable to pay the same school fee as paid during the 2019-20 session, the petitioners argued.