New Delhi: A civil writ petition in the nature of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and others to refund the examination fee to the students registered in class 10 and for appearing in 12 board exams which have been canceled for this year.
The petition states that it is completely unreasonable for the respondent to cancel the money collected from the students for class 10 and 12 board examinations as an examination fee. The petition states that it is safe to assume that CBSE has received crores of rupees as an examination fee.
Petitioner Deepa Joseph, a lawyer and a social worker, mother of a Class 10 student studying in a CBSE affiliated government school in Delhi has approached the Delhi High Court.
Petitioner Deepa Joseph, a lawyer and a social worker, mother of a Class 10 student studying in a CBSE affiliated government school in Delhi has approached the Delhi High Court.
The petition has sought direction from the CBSE and the Union Education Ministry to consider framing a new exam refund policy, wherein fees will be refunded in unforeseen circumstances like pandemics and subsequent cancellation of exams.
The petition, filed through advocate Robin Raju, said that the petitioner had paid Rs 2,100 to CBSE as an examination fee for appearing in class 10 board examinations for seven subjects. But due to the pandemic, the class 10 board exam was canceled on April 14, 2021, and the results of the exam are still not declared.
The class 12 board was also canceled on June 1, 2021, in view of the COVID-19 situation across the country.
It is also necessary to note that the said examination fee is levied by the CBSE from the parents to the invigilators and examiners to be paid or to be spent on setting up the examination center. In short, the fee charged as an examination fee is to cover all kinds of expenses related to the conduct of the examination.
The contention of the petitioner is that since the board examination has been canceled, the CBSE and the Center should refund the money collected as an examination fee as it would not entail the above expenditure, the petition said.
Recently, the All India Parents Association had also raised the demand for a refund of examination fee. The news regarding the demand raised by the Association to the respondent was also published in the media on 7th June 2021.
The published news includes stories of people who belong to poor backgrounds and for whom the amount collected by the respondent as examination fee is important, especially in these tough financial times.
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