Common malpractice by schools. need legal opinion.

We have all heard of how schools have become marketplaces. Their sole purpose being  to skin us of our hard earned money.

Is it not enough that we are already paying the unreasonable fees that they charge ?

I happen to have come across a situation personally just today. My younger brother is in 11th grade. He got his CBSE 10th result recently and he didnt get high enough marks to get PCM. So the school has kept us hanging whether or not he will be given admission in PCM.

So, just to be on the safer side, we went to another school and secured his admission because they said that if we dont hurry, we might be put into a waiting list like others.

Today, we spoke to them that we might ask for a refund if we decide to stick with the present school. They have taken an amount of Rs36,000 already. They said if we get refund, they will deduct Rs12,000.

My question is, can they do this ?
For what are they deducting this amount? We have not availed of any servoce, they have not provided anything to us.

In my opinion, if anyone charges money then they should give something of equal value in return to the payer.

What is the legal position on this matter ?