On Wednesday The High Court of Delhi sought a reply from the city government on a petition alleging that a private school here was charging higher fees from students with disabilities as compared to other students.
The court’s direction came on a petition which was filed by NGO Social Jurist through advocate Ashok Agarwal seeking direction to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Mehta Vidyalaya at K.G. Marg in central Delhi to stop over-charging disabled students and refund the excess money collected from them in the last three years.
A division Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw issued notices to director of education (DOE) and the school.
The petition said that the school had been charging 38-39 percent higher fees from students with disabilities.
The court would next hear the matter Nov 21.
In the petition it has been mentioned that, “A Class 4 student with disabilities was charged a tuition fee of Rs.44, 640 and a general student of the same class was charged Rs.32, 160 during 2012-13”
This is also mentioned in that “Over-charging disabled students was “totally illegal, unjust and against the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”
According Advocate Aggarwal the school has 80 students with disabilities.
