All private schools in TN must list the fee structure on notice boards, websites: Madras High Court

Image used to represent | Photo credit: S. Siva Saravanan

The Madras High Court on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) invoked its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 (power to issue writs) of the Constitution and ordered that all private schools in Tamil Nadu must display their fee structure on their notice boards and websites.

Justice M. Dhandapani ordered that the principal of private schools must ensure that the fee structure fixed for each school by the government-appointed fee fixation committee is regularly updated by the private schools on their notice boards and websites.

The judge made it clear that all schools that come under the Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 2019 must follow the guidelines and display not only the fees fixed by the committee but also other fees approved by the authority.

The directions were issued while disposing of a suit filed by the All India Private Educational Institutions Association, represented by its Chennai-based general secretary K. Palaniappan, challenging a circular issued by the director of private schools on June 1 this year.

The circular mandating the display of fee structure on school notice boards was issued by the principal on the basis of an order issued by the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission on 25 May 2026 while pursuing a request under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The association challenged the TNSIC order and circular on various grounds and argued that such directions were issued without analyzing whether the RTI Act would apply to private unaided educational institutions and whether such institutions would fall under the definition of ‘public authority’.

The judge agreed with the association that private educational institutions which were neither substantially funded nor controlled by the State/Centre did not fall within the ambit of “public authority” and therefore the order passed by the TNSIC did not stand the test of legal scrutiny.

The judge, however, pointed out that private schools fall within the regulatory machinery of a law enacted by the state legislature to govern them and ruled that schools are required to disclose their fee structure and the Supreme Court could issue such a direction by exercising its extraordinary jurisdiction.

Parents looking for a good school for their children must be able to transparently know about the fees charged by each school so that they can make an informed decision and not burn a hole in their pockets after admitting their children to those schools, Justice Dhandapani added.

Published – 8 Jul 2026 16:08 IST