The Madras High Court has directed the education authorities to accommodate the children who studied in 36 ‘A-schools’ run by the Management of Chettinad Foundation A-School, in other recognised CBSE institutions, preferably near their place of residence, in terms of the RTE Act.
The court also directed the management and the founder of the A-School Chettinad Foundation, Annamalai Chettiar, to jointly and severally pay Rs. 15,000 to the parents of the students admitted in the A-Schools as interim compensation within four weeks. Transfer certificates should be issued immediately to all the children. The parents could approach the appropriate forum for getting refund of fees and for claiming further compensation.
The First Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Satish K. Agnihotri and Justice M. Sathyanarayanan was disposing of writ petitions by parents of children in A-Schools to accommodate their wards in some other recognised CBSE schools and pay them compensation.
They submitted that the A-Schools did not have recognition either from the State or the CBSE.
The institutions lacked basic infrastructure and amenities. In spite of that, hefty fee was collected. The parents made repeated representations to the authorities concerned.
Though the management gave an assurance that the children would be accommodated in the nearby CBSE schools, nothing was done so far. Because of this, the future of their children was in jeopardy.
The school education authorities submitted that the management had established the schools without permission/recognition. A show cause notice was issued to the management and the unrecognised schools had been closed.
The Bench said the court had, in an order of October 2011, considered the same issue in detail and found that collection of fees by the A-Schools was unsustainable as the institutions were unrecognised. It was also the authorities’ stand that all the 36 schools had been closed and stringent action was being taken by the department. Hence, it was issuing the direction to the authorities.
