MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday passed an interim order directing the Tamil Nadu government to prevent the collection of question paper fees from government school students.

The order was passed on a petition filed by Malaikozhunthan of Karur, on behalf of the Tamil Nadu High and Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers’ Association. The petitioner said that despite the abolition of the collection of question paper fees from the 2026-27 academic year, the fee was still being collected from students.

Citing information obtained under the Right to Information Act, he said the details of the fees collected should be examined to confirm whether proper receipts and account records were maintained.

He also sought legal action against all government officials involved in illegally collecting the unauthorised fee from students of Classes 6 to 12 in government high and higher secondary schools across the state, particularly children aged between 10 and 14 years. He further sought an inquiry into whether the amounts collected in previous years were properly accounted for and used for the intended purpose.

After hearing, Justices GR Swaminathan and Murugan issued an interim ban on the collection of the fee and ordered the School Education Secretary and the government to file their responses. The court adjourned the hearing of the case.