Many parents took out a peaceful march here on Sunday morning in protest against the “unreasonable” fee hike and “illegal” charges imposed by various “prominent” private schools in the city.
Up in arms
The protesters, including children, gathered outside HUDA City Centre in the morning and marched towards Galleria Market. They carried banners and placards demanding a rollback of the hiked fee and action against the erring schools.
Tripti Singh, the administrator Facebook forum, Gurgaon School for Better Education, said: “Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner D. Suresh had carried out audit of 10 schools last year and stayed the fee hike in four of them. However, his orders were overruled by Additional Chief Secretary P.K. Das. This year, the request for audit of another 10 schools has not evoked any response from the administration. We have nothing against the schools and the administration, but we want a fee justification. It is getting out of hand. Today we can somehow manage to pay, but we may not be able to afford it in the days to come.”
Mr. Suresh told The Hindu that the committee was waiting for final orders by Mr. Das in this connection.
“Since the order to stay fee hike was overruled in an interim order by Mr. Das, we are now waiting for the final orders in this regard. It is only after the final orders that we will know how to go about accounts audit. So we are waiting for more clarity on the matter,” he said.
The agitated parents, who shared messages about the protest on social networking websites and WhatsApp, also shared their experiences and suggestions on the occasion.
‘We have court orders against schools’
“We have court orders against the schools, but they are not being implemented. If parents refuse to pay illegal charges and unreasonable fee, their children are harassed by school authorities. We had some hopes from the new government, but the hopes are now dashed. No school is following the Haryana School Education Act, 1995, and Rules 2003. How can we expect action against school authorities, when most of them are owned by politicians and bureaucrats themselves,” said Anuj Chauhan, vice-president, Haryana Abhibhavak Ekta Manch.
Protests against “unreasonable” fee hike and “illegal” charges imposed by private schools in Gurgaon and Faridabad have gathered momentum over the past months, with parents forming associations and approaching authorities and courts.
The aggrieved parents have also filed FIRs in some cases.
The protesters have demanded a rollback
of the hiked fee and action against the
erring schools
