( 1 ) INTRODUCTION in this batch of writ petitions, an interesting question as to the power and jurisdiction of Kendriya Vidyalaya sponsored by National Thermal Power Corporation ltd. , (NTPC), Jyothi Nagar, Ramagundam, to collect different tuition fee from the children of persons who are not employees of NTPC, but employees of other Central government Organisations and are not posted at NTPC, would arise for consideration in the background facts noticed hereunder. Background facts

( 2 ) IN 1959, Second Central Pay commission recommended to establish higher secondary schools with a common syllabus and medium of instruction for the benefit of the children of the Central government Employees who are liable to frequent transfers as well as other floating population. This was done having regard to the difficulty of Central Government employees in having uniform education for their children owing to differences in syllabus and medium of instruction in different linguistic areas and varying standards of education. Though such schools existed by that time, the Second Pay Commission considered their number and distribution to be inadequate and the cost of education high. Therefore, the Commission recommended, inter alia, as a measure of educational assistance, provision of more residential and day schools with modest fees and affiliated to an All-India body. The central Government, pursuant thereto, formulated a scheme for implementing the recommendations of the Pay Revision commission. Proposal of the Ministry of education mainly consisted of steps to be taken for establishing schools with common medium of instruction, immediate steps for establishment by the Central Government of about 100 schools and a general policy for encouraging the establishment by the Central government and private authorities of schools with common syllabus and medium of instruction. The Union Cabinet approved the scheme on 20-11-1962. The objects of the scheme as approved by the Central cabinet are as under: (I) The schools are established at places having sizeable concentration of Central government employees including Defence personnel. (II) The schools cater to the needs of Defence personnel, Central Government employees, All India Service officers and other floating population; (III) The medium of instruction is Hindi and english and a common syllabus and text books are followed by all the schools. (IV) Students are prepared for the All India secondary School (Class X) and All India senior School Certificate (Class XII) examinations conducted by the Central board of Secondary Education, New delhi. (V) The schools are intended to be partly residential in character, having some good features of a public school without raising the cost of education. (VI) The quality of teaching is kept reasonably high by an appropriate teacher-pupil ratio and provision of a suitable proportion of teachers with high qualifications. (VII) The schools are expected to have their own building, and for this, existing suitable buildings, wherever available, are secured, and new buildings, where essential, are constructed on austerity standards. (VIII) The management and property of the schools vests in an autonomous Central schools Organisation set up for running and administering the Scheme. Education up to Class VIII is free in the central Schools. In Classes, IX, X, XI and xii, tuition fee at varying rates based on the income of the parent is charged from the students. Three important salient features of the scheme as can be culled out from the objects of the scheme are (I) Schools are to cater to the needs of defence personnel, Central Government employees, All India Services Staff and other floating population; (II) Schools are intended to have good features of public school without raising the cost of education; and (III) Education of all schools up to Class VIII is free in Central Schools and in Classes ix to XII tuition fees at varying rates based on the in