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Above mentioned Special Appeal Writs came to be filed, challenging above order dated 07.09.2020.

During the course of hearing, on 23.10.2020, Mr. Rajesh Maharshi, Learned Additional Advocate General submitted before the Court that a committee has been constituted by the State Government for determination of fees to be charged by the private schools for the period of lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the recommendations of the committee shall be filed on 02.11.2020. On the objections raised on behalf of the private schools, the State Government was directed to issue necessary directions by 28.10.2020 positively, regarding interim fees which the private schools shall be allowed to charge subject to final decision in this regard.

In compliance of order dated 23.10.2020, the State Government vide order dated 28.10.2020 issued directions for collection of school fees after opening of the schools to the tune of 70% of tuition fees by the schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education and 60% from the schools affiliated with (23 of 45) [SAW-637/2020] Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education on the basis of reduction of syllabus by the respective Boards. Before opening of the schools, it has been directed that the private schools which are conducting online classes shall be entitled to collect 60% of the tuition fees as "Capacity Building Fees" from the students who are availing the facility of online classes and that too after taking consent of the guardians. Such Capacity Building Fees shall be collected in equal monthly installments. The order dated 28.10.2020 also contains the process of determination of tuition fees in terms of Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2016 and under the Rules of 2017 which envisage that separate heads of fees such as tuition fees, library fees, etc. It has also been directed that the fees prescribed for the last academic session will not be enhanced. The private schools shall not recover the fees for the facilities which have not been provided by them such as laboratory facilities, sports facilities, extra co-curricular facilities etc. On 07.12.2020 in the course of hearing, learned counsel for all the parties arrived at the consensus that looking at the urgency and importance of the matters and in order for final and expeditious disposal of the same, all the petitions filed regarding collection of school fees by the private schools for the lockdown period imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic should be decided by the Division Bench and the pleadings in all these petitions may be taken as complete and all the matters may be posted for final disposal. In view of this consensus, all such pending matters were directed to be listed before this Bench for final disposal. Learned counsel were required to submit brief written submissions. The applicants who submitted applications for impleadment were also allowed to file their written submissions.

This allegation is not correct that the private schools have shown all the fees components as tuition fees. However, the tuition fees can be segregated or identified from the components published by the schools in previous years.

The private schools are well aware of their duties. They maintain the standard of education, therefore, immediately after imposition of lockdown, they had no option but to start online education to their students and it could not be a wise step to wait for any formal direction from any authority for such distance learning.

Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the parents have submitted that the State Government has got every power to mitigate the hardships of its citizens under various legal provisions referred to by the Learned AAG. It has been further submitted (32 of 45) [SAW-637/2020] that during this period, the students are not physically appearing in the school. Only with the object to collect money from the students and for undue enrichment thereby, the schools' management have adopted via media of online education without any guidelines of any competent authority. Most of these schools began online education only after three to four months from the complete lockdown. Most of the schools of rural areas have not started online education so far for want of broadband facility. In most of the schools, the school fees has not been determined by following the procedure as envisaged under Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Act 2016 and Rajasthan Schools (Regulation of Fee) Rules 2017.