Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Mar 20: Allegedly, the state government did not obey the order passed by the single judge bench of the high court to take into consideration the request being made by school administrations relating to fee hike for the current academic year. As a petition has questioned this attitude of the government, the high court served contempt of court notice to the state government.

The petition was filed by the Associated Managements of English Schools in Karnataka (KAMS). A division bench presided over by Chief Justice A S Oka, passed this order. After ordering to issue notices to defendants, chief secretary P Ravikumar, primary and secondary education principal secretary, S R Umashankar and commission of public instruction, Anbukumar, the bench posted the hearing to April 16.

The education department had exempted the parents from paying school fee because of coronavirus. KAMS had approached high court, arguing that the management cannot pay salary to teaching and non-teaching staff and that the government had not reimbursed RTE fee. The association had requested the government to withdraw the instructions against hiking the fee for the current year. As the government failed to act, the high court was approached.

The association said that the government also warned the schools against hiking fees for the current year and said that over 55000 staff working in schools are facing hardships and operating the schools has become very difficult. It had requested the high court to serve contempt of court notice to the government.