Nainital, Oct 27 (PTI) The Uttarakhand government told the High Court on Monday that an advisory committee has been formed to look into cases where private schools charge excessive fees from students.

The state government said the guardians can file a complaint before the committee.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Haldwani resident Deepchandra Pandey alleging that several private schools in Uttarakhand have been charging excessive fees from students.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) informed the court that it has not received a complaint from any student or parent so far.

The Chief Education Officer of Nainital, who appeared in court through video conferencing, said that the state government has constituted a committee to look into issues regarding fees, uniforms, sports, educational trips and private schools forcing students to buy books from a single shop.

After hearing both the parties, the division bench of Justices Ravindra Maithani and Alok Mahara directed the petitioner to first submit his complaint to the advisory committee and disposed of the matter.

The petitioner had argued that the school managements force students to buy notebooks, books and uniforms from specific shops, the prices of which are usually higher than normal market rates.

However, the school managements argued that all the books and other materials are made available at one place so that parents do not have to visit different shops and the session can start on time. PTI DPT RUK RUK RUK