I recently came across several reports in mainstream media and church portals. The reports are on arbitrary school fee hikes in violation of the Madhya Pradesh Niji Vidyalaya (Fees Tatha Sambandhit Vishayon Ka Viniyaman) Adhiniyam 2017 and the arrest of several Church (both CNI and Catholic Church) officials in this connection. Considering Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani's July 2 letter to George Kurian, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, for the immediate release of the officials came to naught, the news is a matter of grave concern from the church's point of view.

A report in The Herald (July 19-25, 2024) stated that two Catholic schools have been ordered to refund Rs 18 crore for collecting excess fees from students and that Jabalpur Diocese has moved the state high court to quash the order of the Jabalpur District Education Officer. In this connection, the Hindu reported that the authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district directed ten private schools to refund about 65 crore rupees charged extra as tuition fees from more than 81,000 students over seven academic sessions.

Jabalpur District Education Officer (DEO) Ghanshyam Soni said the schools had hiked tuition fees in violation of the law. He said that the District Committee (DC) for Regulating Fee and Related Issues had examined the accounts of these schools and found them to be charging extra fees of 64.58 crore rupees from 81,117 students between 2018-19 and 2024-25. Mr Soni told PTI that he had issued notices to the schools on July 9 directing them to refund the illegally collected fees.

According to District Collector Deepak Saxena, on May 27, the Jabalpur district administration registered 11 FIRs against school functionaries and a few bookshop owners for allegedly illegally raising fees and textbook prices, respectively. Action was taken against them after discrepancies linked to them were uncovered. The Free Press Journal reported that based on complaints from parents of students, a list of 79 schools that have been arbitrarily increasing fees has been prepared by Narmadapuram district administration. It was found that the fees had been arbitrarily increased by approximately 10% to 20%. Consequently, the department has summoned the management of these listed schools to appear on July 15, 16, and 18 for a hearing.

As per the Madhya Pradesh school fee hike law, it is mandatory for a school to get prior approval from the District Committee (DC) for Regulating Fees and Related Issues if it intends to raise the fees by more than 10%. If the proposed fee increment is more than 15% of the fee of the preceding year, the DC shall send the same along with its comments to the State Committee for Regulating Fee and Related Issues (SC), which is authorised to decide the quantum of the fee increment. Prima facie, it appears the 79 schools which have been hauled up didn't heed this stipulation.

The law further states:

• The DC shall not fix the fee but shall regulate the increase in fee.
• The Management of a private school shall not receive any donation or capitation fee under any name whatsoever from any student, parent or guardian.
• The management of a private school shall not collect fee in excess of the fee decided under the provisions of this Act.
• The DC shall enquire into a complaint made by a parent/guardian of a student or a student regarding violation of any provision of this Act by the management of the school in which the student is studying. It is authorised to take suo moto cognisance of the violation.
• The DC may appoint a chartered accountant to examine the audited accounts and records of private schools.
• The DC shall, for the purpose of making any enquiry, have the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit in this respect.
• No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Chairperson or member of the DC or the SC for any order made by it or in respect of anything done in good faith or intended to be done under this Act and the rules made thereunder.
• On completion of the inquiry on fee increase, if the DC finds that fee in excess of that permitted has been collected, it shall direct the management of the said private school to refund it to the students/their parent or guardians.
• The DC shall, in addition to the order of refund, impose a penalty of up to rupees two lakh on the management of the private school on whom the refund order has been served for the first time; a penalty up to rupees four lakh where an order of refund is issued for the second time and up to rupees     six lakh for subsequent orders of refund.
• In addition to the imposition of the penalty mentioned above, the DC may also recommend to the competent authority to suspend or cancel the recognition of the said private school.
• The SC shall decide the appeal within such time and in such a manner as may be prescribed. It may reduce or increase the penalty imposed by the DC.

The law doesn't mention arresting errant officials. The arrests might be due to the FIRs being categorised as Cognisable Offences. The legal team representing our church officials will have an answer to this. At such critical times, we badly miss a crack team of lawyers from the Christian community. In this connection, it may be noted that the National Lawyers Forum of Priests and Religious (NLFRP) has approximately 900 priests, brothers, and nuns in India who are lawyers (Source: Radio Veritas Asia October 5 2022). But how many are practising professionals? What was their specific role in Fr Stan Swamy's case? Are they fighting the MP school fee case? Today, when our Christian institutions are having a testing time, it is high time that CBCI/CCBI took on board a team of top-notch Christian lawyers.

NLFRP has several eminent lawyers, namely Father Mahendra P. Tigga SJ - Jharkhand State Lawyers' Forum, Father Ignatius Minj, Father KM Joseph SJ of Patna High Court, Sr Jeena Jacob SJC, an advocate in Karnataka High Court, etc. According to Radio Veritas Asia, the new office bearers of NLFRP are Jesuit Fr Santhanam Arockiasamy (Convenor), Sr. Jeena Valiaparampil SJC (Co-Convenor), Sr. Flory Menezez SCC (Secretary), Sr. Helen Tresa CHF (Treasurer), Fr Mahendra Peter Tigga SJ (Executive Member). Recently, Sr Sujata Jena, a noted lawyer-social worker from Odisha, rescued a husband-wife family from bonded labour in a brick kiln in Karnataka. Her legal expertise greatly helps her render social justice to the downtrodden.

It must be mentioned here several bright priest and nun lawyers are being denied the opportunity to shine in their chosen profession. For example, Sr Jessy Kurian, a St Ann of Providence member and a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of India. Her superior denied her permission to contest in the Supreme Court Bar Association elections. NLFRP national convener Jesuit Father Santhanam Arockiasamy, in a statement to Matters India, said, "Despite her dedication and qualifications, she has unfortunately been restricted from pursuing an opportunity to serve in the executive committee of the Bar Association, an act which would not only enhance her professional standing but also contribute significantly to the broader legal fraternity."

In Kolkata, one priest (now a parish priest) obtained his Bar Council Licence in 2012. But he hasn't been granted permission to practise in court. He feels that by being allowed to hone his legal acumen, he can serve both the institutional church and the Laity better than he's doing now. In December 2023, a young nun from Jharkhand came to Kolkata, aspiring to practise in Calcutta High Court. But her superior blocked her dreams by deputing her as a nursery class teacher! Being a quick thinker, she got herself transferred to Siliguri, where she is pursuing her legal profession. The inexplicable outlook of several heads of congregations (do they suffer from an inferiority complex?) is stifling talented priests and nuns. When will the Holy Spirit remind them of "Lead, Kindly Light?"