The Delhi High Court has sought responses of the city government and CBSE on a PIL alleging that societies like Delhi Public School Society were indulging in commercialisation of education by allowing their franchisee schools to use their name and logo for huge sums of money.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath issued notice to the Delhi government and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and sought their replies on the plea by some persons claiming to be alumni of schools run by DPSS.
The court has listed the matter for further hearing on January 8, 2016.
The petitioners, Harshpal Singh Sawhney and Rupesh Bhadoria, who claim to be alumni of schools run by DPSS, as well as Sunil Roy, who claims his children study in one of the schools run by the society, have alleged that DPSS was "trading" in its brand name and logo to "generate revenue and extract monetary gains".
Advocate Anil Airi, appearing for the petitioners, argued that this practice amounts to "commercialisation of education" and was a violation of CBSE rules and affiliation bye-laws.
The petition, filed through advocate Imtiaz Ahmed, has sought an inquiry into "nature of agreements and transactions between educational societies and franchisee schools and to take appropriate action against them".
The petitioners have sought quashing of "the illegal joint venture agreements and memorandum of understandings entered into by respondent 5 (DPSS) and other similarly placed societies pertaining to granting of/operation of franchisee schools."
They have alleged that DPSS generates around Rs 30-35 crore annually from its franchisee schools, in India and abroad, by charging lakhs as annual maintenance fees.
Apart from that, the society at the time of entering into an agreement with a franchisee also charges around Rs 25 lakh for use of its brand name and logo, the petition has claimed.
The petitioners said that "the respondent society and
other similarly placed societies have executed memorandum of understandings or other agreements with franchisee schools for payment of varying franchisee amounts, in gross violation of the rules and affiliation bye-laws of respondent 1 (CBSE) and that constitutes unlawful commercialisation of education."
Their petition states, "The franchisor society often, does not actually get hands on involved in the schools being run by the franchisee, rather, it merely allows franchisees to use its logo, brand name etc. While the franchisees invest in infrastructure, employ their own staff and manage their own day to day affairs."
It has said that such practice amounts to "misleading the general public into believing that all such schools bearing their (society's) name, logo and motto actually belong to them.
