AP High Court Sets Aside YSRCP's GOs Over Fixed Fees For Private Schools And Colleges

The Andhra Pradesh High Court (HC,) on the 27th of December, Monday, set aside orders of the A.P., HC regarding school and college fees.

Recently, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) Government issued Government Orders (GO) 53 and 54, fixing schools and junior college fees in the State. The GOs were issued by Mr. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, on the 24th of August, 2021.

However, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the High Court against the fixing of fees for private schools and junior colleges. The PIL was filed by a private school authority of East Godavari district. The petition stated that the fixed fees were imposed without any consideration with private schools and colleges. The petitioner challenged the GOs, saying the Government does not know the issues faced by the schools/colleges, especially during this pandemic and fixing fees could be a huge loss for the private institutions.

During the hearing, the High Court observed that the Government must seek proposals from the school management to issue the new GOs. Therefore, they struck down the two GOs and directed the Andhra Pradesh School Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission (APSERMC,) to issue fresh notifications after consulting with the schools/colleges.

The Court also ordered a reconstitution of the fee structure for educational institutions by March 2022.