The Supreme Court has set up a committee to examine the financial status of various private schools in Uttar Pradesh which were directed to refund excess fees charged to students during the Covid pandemic, on Tuesday.
A bench led by chief justice of India Sanjiv Khanna formed the committee, comprising former Delhi high court judge GP Mittal and a chartered accountant Adhish Mehra, to assess the financial status of each school independently and submit a report.
The court noted that during the pandemic, many schools faced financial difficulties, with insufficient funds, leading to staff reductions and salary cuts for teachers. As a result, they experienced significant human resource losses.
The top court was of the view that directions to such schools to refund or adjust the excess fee charged should be implemented after an assessment of the financial accounts of each school. The court noted that this exercise will be completed within four weeks.
In January 2023, the Allahabad high court had directed various private schools to either adjust or pay back the excess money that was charged to students during the pandemic sessions. However, the private schools moved to the top court challenging the high court’s decision. In May 2023, the Supreme Court stayed the high court order.
In various earlier hearings in this case, the top court had issued directions to certain schools to file affidavits with a copy of their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts of the relevant periods.
On Tuesday, the top court noted that the high court, in its order, had taken a broad brush approach. The top court, on the other hand, emphasised the need to go into each case independently. The court stated that in the meantime, the interim order staying the high court’s direction will continue. Senior advocate Hufeza Ahmadi represented certain private schools.
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