Punjab govt to appeal against single judge school fee payment order

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government will file a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) in the Punjab and Haryana high court this week against the decision of a single judge in the matter of payment of school fee during the lockdown period.
The issue came up for discussion informally during the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, after which chief minister Amarinder Singh said that the LPA should be filed before the HC this week, advocate general Atul Nanda said later.
On June 30, a single judge of the HC had ruled that all schools were entitled to collect tuition fee, irrespective of offering online classes during the lockdown. In her ruling, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur had said that schools will continue to endeavour and impart online/ distance learning so that education is not adversely impacted due to the present or future lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic.
While the court is set to hear appeals against the rulings on July 13, the Punjab government has decided to move the court for hearing by a division bench in the interest of all the concerned parties, including parents, teachers, staff as well as the school administrators.