Private Schools need not Pay Government Scales

An unaided private institution can’t be forced to pay salary on par with the staff of State-run schools, the High Court of Madras has ruled, refusing to issue a direction to a private institution to enforce the policy of the government in its administration.

A Larger Bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and judges T S Sivagnanam and Puspha Sathyanarayana made the observation, while hearing an appeal by Arokiamatha Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Pollachi, against a single judge order.

The single judge had, in June 2009, directed the school to fix the scale of pay of its staff on par with the staff of the government schools. “The private institutions are at liberty to fix their own norms in administration with reasonable restrictions. No direction can be issued against an unaided private institution to enforce the policy of the government in its administration,” the judges said.

“The court would also like to place on record that even the staff of the State government is not paid salary on par with their counterparts of the Central government. In such a situation, the State can’t force the management of a private school to pay its staff on par with the staff of the State government, which, in the considered opinion of the court, will indirectly force the institution to surrender the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 30 (1) of the Indian Constitution,” the judges said.

IndianBureaucracy.com hopes and prays that the fees paid to the teachers are at a parity with the fees charged by them . There should be balance between school fees, teachers salary and the education being provided for employability.