Parents of school-going children met at the Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29 here on Saturday to talk about the “unreasonable” fee hike imposed by schools.
Ramphal Sheoran, general secretary of the Haryana Abhibhavak Ekta Manch, said the meeting was convened to discuss strategies that could counter the “unreasonable” fee hike and “illegal” charges imposed by schools. “Despite representations to the district administration and protests across the city, the government has failed to act against the schools. Most private schools have been hiking fee at will and also seek illegal charges from parents. It has become almost impossible for parents to afford education in private schools. We discussed strategies to counter this,” said Mr. Sheoran, refusing to divulge details.
Objections against “illegal” charges imposed by schools in Gurgaon and Faridabad have gathered momentum over the past few months with the parents forming associations and approaching the authorities and courts. In some cases, aggrieved parents have also filed FIRs. The issue also figured during the non-live question session on Twitter with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in July.
Last year, Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner D. Suresh had carried out an audit in 10 schools and stayed the fee hike for four of them. His orders, however, were overruled by Additional Chief Secretary P.K. Das. This year, requests for an audit in 10 other schools have not evoked any response from the administration so far.
Though the district administration says that more clarity is needed with regard to the issue, the parents cry foul. “It is a conspiracy to help the private schools,” said Mr. Sheoran.
The parents also expressed anguish over repeated incidents of sexual assault and accidents in schools, which pose a security threat for their children. “Two nursery students from leading private schools have been sexually assaulted inside the premises. Earlier, a Class III student from another school lost her life while crossing the road after getting off the school bus. All schools have become money-minting machines with little effort devoted towards quality education and safety of students. Even the administration has failed to take action against them,” he added.
