On Friday, March 17, the Kerala government informed the High Court that a regulatory committee would be constituted to fix the fee structure of the CBSE-affiliated schools in the state. The statement was made during the hearing of a petition which had urged for such a step.

In a public interest writ petition, VT Jayan, a resident of Kochi had sought a directive to the state government to constitute a statutory forum to fix the fee structure of the CBSE-affiliated schools. The High Court observed that the submission should be honoured in letter and spirit, as per a report by The New Indian Express.

Jayan, in his plea, had pointed out that the management of the CBSE-affiliated schools in the state was collecting exorbitant fees. He submitted that such amounts were illegal and void as this amounted to a violation of Articles 14 (Right to Equality) and 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution.

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The petition also points out that as per Clause 11 of the CBSE affiliation by law, collection of capitation fees, donations and other charges, except tuition fees, was prohibited. In response, the state government mentioned that the proposed statutory committee would be set up in three weeks' time, as per TNIE.