Be firm, don’t pay hiked fee, Telangana education minister Kadiyam Srihari tells parents

HYDERABAD: IT minister KT Rama Rao assurances to parents’ association to take up the fee hike issue with education minister Kadiyam Srihari seems to have borne fruits. In a meeting with members of Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) at his residence on Wednesday, Kadiyam Srihari instructed parents to be firm and not pay the hiked fee to any school.

The minister is said to have asked parents to cooperate with the government which is already doing its bit. “We are doing the best we can do but parents too must cooperate and be firm and not pay the hiked fee. If schools claim they are not aware of the Government Order, show them the instructions issued by the Education department,” he told HSPA.

HSPA has been meeting officials and ministers to draw the attention of the government to the annual 10 per cent fee hike as recommended by Prof Tirupati Rao Committee report. Against this backdrop, the government had issued directions to all schools in the state instructing them to maintain status quo regarding fees.

However, since the circular has not been forwarded individually to each school, several of them are feigning ignorance about it and arm-twisting parents to pay higher fees or forgo admission.
“Staying the fee has given parents hope that the government is listening to us. However, we know that this is an interim step. We hope the government will set up fee regulatory committees by this March as several CBSE schools start their academic year by April itself,” said Seema Agarwal, vice-president HSPA.

The parents’ body also submitted a representation to Srihari requesting that schools found flouting the directive on fee stay should be penalised. “We see such actions of schools as a direct assault on the authority of the government and do hope that government will initiate the action, even if it means derecognition of some schools or withdrawal of their NOCs,” it stated.