New Delhi: The Supreme Court said that education is not a business to earn profit from, and it upheld the verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court regarding the tuition fee hike in private and unaided medical colleges upto Rs 24 lakh.
Justices MR Shah and MM Sundresh heard the case on Monday, declaring the state’s decision to hike tuition fees in 2017 “unjustifiable”. The latest hike was seven times higher as compared to the one in 2011.
The bench said, “To enhance the fee to ₹24 lakhs, which is seven times more than the fee fixed earlier, was not justifiable at all. Education is not the business to earn profit. The tuition fee shall always be affordable,” quoted the Bar and Bench.
Furthermore, the court charged the state government and the appellant medical college with Rs 2.5 lakh each.
The court has also asked the medical colleges to refund the extra money taken from students after raising tuition fees.
