Parents aggrieved by school managements charging extra fees can file an appeal with the Commissioner for Public Instruction if they feel that an order passed by the District Education Regulatory Authority (DERA) has an error or is not in their favour.
The DERA settles matters pertaining to fees if parents complain that schools have increased the fees “unreasonably”. In a circular, the department has stated that the provision to appeal is available only for an institution or an aggrieved parent and not for an association.
Complaints
This was done after private schools complained that many organisations under the guise of being a parents’ association were taking law into their own hands and organising protests at schools.
D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, has said the association welcomed the move and would ensure that there was no “interference” by third-party members.
Many upset
Several NGOs and parent associations, however, are upset with the move as they feel that it would deny parents an opportunity to get justice. “Many parents, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will not be able to file cases as an individual as they fear that their children would be discriminated against in school,” said B.N. Yogananda, chief secretary of the RTE Students and Parents Association.