Know your rights – School admissions and fees refund

School admissions and fees refund

Its a known fact that there is no consistent Admission schedule followed by schools in the country. While some schools start taking admissions for next session as early as June, there are others who wait till the end of October. In such a scenario, what happens when you have paid admission fees to one school initially and later your child gets admission to a far superior school of choice. What happens if you as parents switch to a different city for job after completing admission process in first school. You would want to pursue refunds of the admission fee paid to the first school. Won’t you? However, in reality, many parents go by the first school’s rule book and either forfeit entire or a portion of fees paid to the first school or deprive themselves of admissions to the school of preferred choice. The parents generally feel that School admissions and fees refund never go hand in hand but that is not true.

What does the rule book say?

There are no clear instructions from curriculum boards or Directorate of Education for refund of admission fees once paid. Only in case of Delhi, it is written in rule book  of DoE that entire fees (admission fees usually consist of components like One time Admission fees, Caution/Security Money, Development charges/Annual charges) has to be refunded within one month of being paid. The schools are allowed to retain only marginal amount as processing charges. But then, one would say it is because the admission schedule in all schools in Delhi is fixed and coincide with each other.

In year 2009,  the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education issued public notices and circulars condemning such practices and instructed the institutions to refund the fee collected from the parents. A maximum of Rs 1,000 can be retained towards processing charges that may have been incurred by the institution in regard to the admission. However, both UGC and AICTE are meant for UG colleges and have no control over schools.

Till 2011, most of the consumer courts had given judgments in favor of complainants (parents). However, in 2011, the Apex Supreme Court passed a judgment which held that Education is not a service hence student was not a consumer. As a result, consumer court complaints from parents were not being accepted at consumer courts (district). However, in 2016, Maharashtra state commission differentiated services offered by schools. Post this, many district forums have cited this case for passing orders in favor of parents.

The current scenario with private schools?

Since there is nothing in the rule book, for ample clarity, many schools nowadays specify a clause in their admission forms that admission fees once paid will not be refunded. They only refund the security money if at all they do. However, as  a matter of fact, this arbitrary clause from schools has no legal standing.

Parents have the legitimate right to a refund of the fees from first school in case they move to another school or city, so as to exercise their right to join a school of their choice. This has been proven time and again in cases where parents have gone to courts seeking refund of entire admission fees amount.

 

What options do parents have?

  • Parents shall submit to school in writing to refund the entire amount except for nominal processing fees. They can also attach copy of references shared to previous cases of refund as shared in References section in this article. Please note any arbitrary clause from school has not hold good in court of law.
  • Parents can reach district consumer forum and file case for a meager fee of Rs. 200 plus miscellaneous expenses. If the case is not accepted at district level, parents can appeal at state consumer forum for Rs 500 plus miscellaneous expenses.
  • Parents can eventually reach district civil courts. In either of consumer or civil court case, if the case is accepted, the schools will be asked to pay litigation charges along with full fee refund.

 

Parents shall feel free to contact us for any query or help should they need any.

 

References

Below are case studies of instances where schools have been directed to refund fees on complaint of parents:

 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Parent-wins-battle-against-school-to-get-admission-fee-refunded/articleshow/45302605.cms

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Student-can-seek-refund-even-if-fees-are-non-refundable/articleshow/53481084.cms

http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/consumer-forum-directs-school-to-refund-admission-fee-to-student/716893/

 

 

[lastupdated]

Last Updated on August 7, 2018 by Go4Reviews

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55 thoughts on “Know your rights – School admissions and fees refund

  • March 26, 2024 at 2:10 pm
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    hello sir
    mene apni daughter ka admission krwaya hai PCS Delhi, in the moth of January, 2024 in Class KG and we have paid 6 months fee that is 28200 tuition fee 4200 annual fee and Rs. 10000.00 donation. The session will start in April, 2024 for 2024-25. Now i want to cancel the admission and want to take admission in another school. The School is following Delhi Govt. fee refund policy. Can I get full fee refund paid by me in the month of January, 24 at the time of admission……

    Reply
  • March 3, 2024 at 9:00 am
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    I have taken admission in play school of my daughter and it’s been 6 months and they took registration charges apart from monthly fees.is there any way I can get refund of registration charges

    Reply
    • March 3, 2024 at 2:38 pm
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      they wont if the academic session has already started or in progress

      Reply
  • August 6, 2023 at 10:37 am
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    Sir I am in class 11 actually it’s been a month since academic session started I don’t want to continue in this school . I have already paid 30000 can I still get some refund. CBSE school.

    Reply
    • August 7, 2023 at 11:00 am
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      It would be difficult if academic session already started.

      Reply
  • July 29, 2023 at 3:41 pm
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    Hello,

    I had taken admission of my daughter at TRPS -Dahisar for class VIII for academic year 2023-24. Due to some issues , I have cancelled the admission before start of school. I approached school managment for refund but they are denying stating that their admission form mentions that the fee is non refundable. Kindly advise me in this regard.

    Reply
    • August 7, 2023 at 11:02 am
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      If their admission process was not over, there is a chance for getting it back. So, please check that. Thereafter, you can follow the steps as mentioned in previous comments.

      Reply
  • July 15, 2023 at 4:26 pm
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    Can anyone please help, I have taken admission in one of IES schools.for.my son in nursery,but due to some reason we cancelled the admission.They refunded only 75% of total 1lac..and 25 k they are saying is.non refundable..this is quite not acceptable..can Nyone help how to fight to get the 25k refund

    Reply
    • July 16, 2023 at 1:39 am
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      To start with, Please send them written communication followed by legal notice to school and mention about your grounds (with proofs if possible). If admission process was closed, it might be difficult to get refund but above will help.

      Reply
  • June 19, 2023 at 8:41 pm
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    Hi Sir

    I need your help in seeking school fees refund back from one of the schools in bangalore, i had admitted my son to PP2 during nov for the academic year 2023-2024. The schools are yet to start and i have written a mail seeking refund since due to my health and family conditions i am unable to afford and relocate to that school. However school has only agreed to refund caution deposit of Rs 25000, i have been said remaining Rs 1,00,000/- is non refundable. Can you please suggest or help. i have intimated school on 19th of June, School is supposed to start on 24th June.

    Regards,
    Manjunath K

    Reply
    • July 15, 2023 at 11:33 pm
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      Please send them written communication followed by legal notice and mention about your health grounds with proofs. If admission process was closed, it might be difficult to get refund but above will help.

      Reply
  • April 5, 2023 at 8:51 am
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    Mere bacche ka admission bording school mein hua, or 2nd day bacche ne school m rhne se mana kr diya baccha 11standard k liye admission hua, mein school fees ki 1st installment Jama ki mera refund milega ki nahi

    Reply
    • April 6, 2023 at 1:05 am
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      Is scenario mein bahut difficult hai. Par aap school se baat kar sakte hain ki school kuch proportion us fees ka vapas karde. Direct interaction ke alawa. Aap email aur registered posts ke through bhi ye request kar sakte hain.

      Reply
      • April 15, 2023 at 3:11 pm
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        I want to cancel my admission but the school is not returning the admission fees is there any return policy of admission cancellation and refund in doon bharti public school

        Reply
        • July 15, 2023 at 11:34 pm
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          Please send them written communication followed by legal notice and mention about your personal grounds with proofs. If admission process was closed, it might be difficult to get refund but above will help.

          Reply
  • March 21, 2022 at 1:14 pm
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    Hi

    DPS Dehradun has taken 35,000 as admission fees from us and now they are not ready to refund it.
    We have informed them over the email that we would not be able to take admission because we are not in a position to relocate to Doon.

    Reply
  • March 16, 2022 at 11:36 pm
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    Sir i have paid full in one go for UKG for the new session which start from april but we are transferring to another city will i get refund in full

    Reply
    • March 18, 2022 at 10:17 am
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      If the admission process for the school is still in progress, you can demand refund in full. Send them a written request and follow that up with a visit.

      Reply
    • February 20, 2023 at 1:34 pm
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      Jai hind sir.

      Sir my daughter had joined school class till 1st dec 2022 in aps ahmadnagar. I applied tc on 1st dec and got tc on 5th dec. But till now the fees have not been refunded sir. I called the school many times. Whenever I call, they say that refund will be done tomorrow. Sir it’s been 80 days till now the fees have not been received sir

      जय हिन्द सर।
      श्रीमान मेरी बेटी ने APS अहमदनगर में 1 दिसंबर 2022 तक स्कूल की क्लास जॉइन की थी। मैंने 1 दिसंबर को टीसी की एप्लीकेशन लगाई और 5 दिसंबर को टीसी मिली। लेकिन अब तक फीस वापस नहीं की गई सर। मैंने कई बार स्कूल को फोन किया। मैं जब भी फोन करता हूं तो कहते हैं कि कल रिफंड हो जाएगा। सर 80 दिन हो गए अब तक फीस नहीं मिली सर

      सर please help

      Reply
      • February 24, 2023 at 1:30 am
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        hi sir, please ask them in writing by registered post and else as legal notice. that should be the first step. but try to settle personally first. record your visits, take screenshot of register there.

        Reply
  • August 10, 2021 at 9:06 pm
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    hello sir, I have taken admission in keren public school, checkanurani, Madurai, tamilnadu.
    i have paid them rs 20000 on 3rd august and taken admission but for some circumstances,my parents don’t want to send me to the school annd also for my grandfather health issue they want refund of money.
    is it possible to take refund from school?

    Reply
  • May 28, 2021 at 2:36 pm
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    I took admission for My Child on 8th Apr 2021. My child took his first class on 9th Apr 2021 and during the interval of classes he called me and refused to take classes in a new school, he wanted to join his old school back. He called me 3-4 times that day for begging to go back to his older school. So, I talked to the school about canceling his admission, and as per their reply, I wrote an e-mail to their official mail ID and send an email copy in PDF format to the school’s representative via WhatsApp.
    I paid Rs. 67550 (Admission Fee: Rs. 35000 + Caution Money: Rs. 5000 + Ist Quarter Fee: Rs. 27550 ). As per my latest talk with school’s representative they are only pay caution money + 2 months fee.
    Is it legitimate?

    Reply
    • May 28, 2021 at 6:04 pm
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      Dear Ajay, Since their new session had started by then, they are in their rights to forfeit admission fees. In such a scenario, you could request them personally to refund admission fees but legally, may not be possible.

      Reply
      • March 30, 2023 at 12:50 am
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        Hii
        Sir i have paid 26000/- fees for class I in school. Due to the rude behavior of the school staff I decided to withdrawing my daughter’s admission. Session will start on 3- 4 th April 2023 and I post the application for withdrawing the admission on 29 th march2023. After seeing my mail the school admin staff member called me and told fee r nonrefundable. I request that u deduct one month fee or some amount and rest of amount please refund me but due to their rude behavior she told me no. So plz tell me what we do.

        Reply
        • March 30, 2023 at 1:04 am
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          Please send these details on email. Specifically mention that you requested for fee refund before end of admission season. If there is no response, send them by registered post and then you could follow up with a legal notice. But, you need to give a solid reason for revoking admissions.

          Reply
  • April 9, 2021 at 7:24 am
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    Sir,I have taken admission of my son in march 15 due to Corona school is closed and they are not providing online classes.school has taken 63000 it includes Admission fee, Annual fer and tution fee .How I will get my money back,pls help

    Reply
  • June 26, 2020 at 11:40 pm
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    Sir I also have a issue for refund the admission fee for PS class for the year 2010-21 with Vishwa Bharati Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi. Despite number of requests, letters, mails and messages on what’s app school principal has refused to refund the same due to lots of excuses in their reply. There after no finding any alternative I have to send a legal Notice to the principal concern and despite the receiving she got agree to pay only half of the entire deposited amount.
    Sir pls help me in this situation. Pls give me legal advice in this regard as earliest possible as due to lockdown I’m facing lots of finencial problems but no body respond me till date.

    Regards

    Reply
  • November 21, 2019 at 7:41 pm
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    Please help ..

    I enrolled my 2 children to a private CBSE School (Bangalore – Urban) in the month of May 2019.
    During admission procedure, I paid an amount of Rs 31382/- for books & uniforms.
    Within a week, I put the request for cancellation of admission with the school due to relocation issues.

    School did not gave me books & uniform due to stock unavailability during the time of payment, and later also.

    Though I paid books & uniforms fee at school’s fee-counter within school premises, school gave me receipt in the name of some vendor internally managed by school.

    The admission process was not completed fully as I did not submitted the mandatory documents.
    My children did not attended the school even for a single day.
    Receipts available with me at my side does not mentions the amount is non-refundable.

    So far school has not given me books & uniforms.

    School is denying the refund of book & uniform saying that it is non-refundable.

    Kindly suggest what to do.

    Reply
    • May 2, 2020 at 2:27 pm
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      Dear Sameer, we are extremely sorry for having missed your query. Unfortunately, per law, admission process completion is defined per school per session and not by an individual parent’s process.
      Talk to the school to understand why its non-refundable. I presume they have given advance order to the vendor and hence not in a position to repay. At this point, you can ask them to share the school’s communication with vendor with date. If its after you requested for refund, you have a good case. Else, the advice would be to buy the books with receipt date and then try to coordinate with vendor to buy back with some discount.

      Reply
  • August 26, 2019 at 1:37 pm
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    Dear Sir,
    I admitted my two daughters in a private school in Noida in July 2017. During the admission time, i paid a security money of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rs.50,000/- for each) in respect of both daughters. They completed the academic session 2017-18 and 2018-19 in the same school. I have also paid the admission charges and fees in respect of both for the first quarter of session 2019-20 (April 2019- June 2019). I received my transfer order in May 2019, however not sure about my movement i did not give notice to school immediately. After summer break, i did not send my daughters to school and sent a notice to school on 27 July 2019 about our movement. Now school is refusing to refund the security money quoting that first we have to deposit three months fees for the 2nd quarter i.e. July 2019 to September 2019, then only they will refund the fees. Can you help me in this case.

    Reply
    • May 2, 2020 at 2:29 pm
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      Dear reader, we are extremely sorry for having missed your query. Since the quarter has begun, they will charge the fees.

      Reply
  • July 23, 2019 at 8:23 am
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    i admission my child in private boarding school and and given a admssion fees for two month fees around 80000 and one month studies ,and school dress around 1lakes and i want to shift my child in other country school ,can refund from some amount from that school

    Reply
    • May 2, 2020 at 2:30 pm
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      Dear reader, we are extremely sorry for having missed your query. If the admission process and school session had not begun, you could have approached school for refund.

      Reply
  • June 20, 2019 at 11:31 am
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    My son got Admission in the preschool in April.Minimum 15 days he went because of election holidays and summer break. Now we are shifting to other city and I am not sure whether school will refund me the annual fees or not. What should I do?
    Please help

    Reply
    • June 24, 2019 at 3:18 am
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      If admission process in the school is complete/session has already started, it would be difficult to get the refund of admission fees. Tuition fees for future quarters shall be refundable.

      Reply
  • June 1, 2019 at 3:11 am
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    A local school in ahmedabad is asking a friend to withdraw his daughter (sr. Kg) from the school basis attendance 60% and weak in English language.. they are forcing the parents to take the fees back and seek admission elsewhere. Does pre primary education by a private school have attendance and exam criteria for being promoted to the next class or are my friends being taken for a ride? The fact that the school told them this only in March-April when all other schools are through with their admissions.. please guide

    Reply
    • June 1, 2019 at 3:21 pm
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      Till Class V, every child has right to education and cant be denied promotion to next class. However, it is important for parents to communicate about leaves in advance with valid reasons so that school can plan accordingly. Parents should communicate in writing with the school mentioning to them about No-detention policy that prohibits schools from failing a child till class V(EXCLUSIVE of class V, this used to be till class VIII previously).

      Reply
    • March 28, 2023 at 11:17 pm
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      Hello sir, my child got admission in st joseph convent school punjab. (Actually he has done his LKG in first devision from cbse affiliated school new delhi). During admission time school showed high level syllabus for admission in ukg. Thats why we decided to get admission in LKG again. But now their syllabus is not that they showed us at the time of admission. And i requested the school authority to shift my student in ukg class and if necessary they can take test of him. Bt they rejected. Thats why i decided to get my admission fees back from the school. Is it possible to get money back from st joseph convent schol?

      Reply
      • March 29, 2023 at 1:19 am
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        hi, sorry to hear about the situation. I assume you have already decided to take admission for your ward in some other school. Since admission season is over, they might not be bound to return admission fees. However, you may try sending them written emails and registered posts on either of your expectations. Unfortunately, that’s the only way to trying your luck once.

        Reply
  • March 28, 2019 at 4:39 pm
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    I’m in Indian Army. I paid Rs 4000 towards registration of my two kids at school nearby my village as I was planning to shift my family from Mumbai to my village. But due to Pulwama attack and high alerts followed by Air Strike, my leave was cancelled and I was not able to shift my family at my village. Now the school denies to refund registration fee.
    What should I do?

    Reply
  • March 1, 2019 at 2:35 pm
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    Please Suggest, I have admitted my child to KG class in RD Rajpal school on intimation by them ,they also said that in case of refund you have to come with application within a month.
    But later after a month my kid got admission in another far superior school. due to which ,I requested RD school to refund after a month .they are refusing ,I am requesting them to refund any amount as they desire .To my surprise and embarrassment they did not refunded as my hard earned money is loosing without any benefit or services provided by school as far as admission is considered.

    Thanks

    Reply
  • November 10, 2018 at 3:43 am
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    I have paid my fees in Kuns DLF branch but now opting out because I get a better option in Shiv Nadar. But school is saying no to refund. Please help.

    Reply
  • October 2, 2018 at 7:58 am
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    This is a very useful read for parents who are being controlled by schools and their stupid rules.

    Reply
  • September 27, 2018 at 10:54 pm
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    Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  • September 2, 2018 at 1:11 am
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    Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  • August 5, 2018 at 1:34 pm
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    After going to civil court against a school in Gurgaon, the school refunded entire amount other than registration fees in an out of court settlement. Took me a year though though.

    Reply
  • July 18, 2018 at 8:36 pm
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    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • July 15, 2018 at 8:39 pm
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    It is so important for govt to bring some regulations around this. Admissions in a city shall happen together so that parent’s have a common platfofm to choose from before paying fees.

    Reply
  • July 15, 2018 at 7:59 pm
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    I also fought a case against a prominent school in Gurgaon. Originally, school was only paying back security money. Once the case was accepted, the school agreed to pay me 90% of total fees as an out of court settlement. It took around a year but finally…

    Reply
  • July 15, 2018 at 7:55 pm
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    Thanks. This is very important piece of info.

    Reply
    • April 6, 2023 at 3:34 pm
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      R/sir mere bete Ka admission the Jain International School Aurangabad me kiya tha but kuch resion ke do din may admission cansel Kr diya he or dono ki admission fess 27000 Rupee
      Paid Ki thi school fess retun Kr ne Ka koai police Nahi asa Bata rahe to muje ky krna chahe

      Reply
      • April 7, 2023 at 2:54 am
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        hi, admission apke dwara cancel kiya gaya hai kya ya school ke dwara?

        Reply
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