Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court has expressed shock over certain private schools collecting a one-time fee (OTF) of up to ₹7 lakh per student during admission and said that the time had come to regulate school fees in Hyderabad.

The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the powerful Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) challenging the OTF as it is collected over and above the regular fee.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale and Justice A V Sesha Sai have urged for a regulatory process to be followed “to stop this ridiculous practice of OTF”.

Kalpana Ekbote, the counsel for the association has told the court that the OTF is nothing, but banned capitation fee now brought in with a new name.

Last year the Telangana government had appointed an Admission Fee Regulatory Committee to oversee the fee structures of private colleges and unaided institutions. But the OTFs charged by schools in Hyderabad exceed the sums collected by some of the most expensive engineering and medical colleges in the country.

The counsel also said that a survey was conducted by HSPA, based on 160 schools in the city, which revealed the schools are collecting the one-time fee(OTFs) ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakhs in the name of an admission fee.

Justice Bhosale wondered as to how parents from lower middle class would be able to afford such huge fee and brushed aside a justification from the counsel for Hyderabad Public School that they are raising fee only to pay UGC scales to their teachers.

“Don’t justify your conduct,” the CJ said.

S Niranjan Reddy, another counsel who appeared for the protesting parents, told the court that some schools were collecting the OTF in the name of constructing new buildings.

Representing the state, Telangana additional advocate general Ramachandra Rao reportedly told the court that a KG to PG education policy, which was part of the TRS’ manifesto in 2014, would solve the problem.

The court posted the case to next Monday.