STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: A Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur disposed off with directions two PILs and one petition, one Suo-Moto by High Court on Article plight of the school going students due to unprecedented floods that hit Kashmir during the month of September, 2014 and another on the basis of representation received from a group of practicing lawyers of Srinagar, pointing out the delay in conducting the examination of the students from November, 2014, 9th standard in the last week of October, 2014 or first week of November, 2014 and to start new session immediately with further direction to conduct the examination of 10th and 12th standards in the second week of November, 2014 and for directing the State to make the assessment of loss to the schools and rebuild them on modern and scientific lines and provide them modern libraries, quality education and also disposed off a petition filed by J and K Un-aided Private Schools Coordination Committee, challenging Government Order No. 520 of 2013 dated 7th May 2013, constituting a committee for fixation of fee structure in private educational institutions in the State of J and K. The Chairman of the Committee, who was also a former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, having got some other assignment, relinquished the post and the Committee became non-functional and this Court also granted order of status quo on the said government order by order dated 11th October, 2013.
Division Bench after hearing the said submissions and taking note of the plea made by the Advocates, requested the respective counsels as to whether these petitions may be disposed off by granting liberty to the school managements to approach the fee fixation Committee for appropriate directions, such as fixation of proper fee for each standard depending on expenses to be incurred by each school, fixation of bus fare to be collected from the students, book/uniform rates etc. The learned counsels appearing for the parties readily agreed to the said suggestion and submitted that these petitions may be disposed off with such liberty and disposed off all the petitions with the observations that the Committee constituted pursuant to Government Order No. 520-Edu of 2013 dated 7th May 2013 being non-functional due to resignation of the Chairman, the State Government is directed to nominate a retired Judge of this Court as Chairman, if not already nominated, within one week from today, for fixation of fee structure of the private schools. The managements of the un-aided private schools are granted liberty to approach the said Committee for fixation of fee structure of each standard and till new fee structure is fixed by the Committee, the managements shall collect all types of fees as in August, 2014. It is also made clear that if any school management is not satisfied with the fees to be fixed by the Committee, it is open for them to approach this Court for redressing their grievances.
PIL No. 13/2014, praying for directions to conduct the examination in November, 2014 etc., has become infructuous. Insofar as the second prayer, seeking direction to the government for assessing the losses to the schools caused by the floods and rebuilding such schools with modern and scientific way including modern libraries, such general prayer is not maintainable. The said issue will come within the ambit of flood relief package already announced by the Government. If any of the school management has not been provided with the flood relief for rebuilding of the school buildings, library etc. liberty is granted to such school managements to approach the concerned authority of the government seeking flood relief and if any such request is made the same shall be considered with all seriousness and appropriate amount be sanctioned as per the guidelines already finalized by the Government. JNF