AHMEDABAD: The parents of some students of
DPS Gandhinagar created a ruckus after the school authorities refused to allow their children to board school buses because the parents had not given permission to the school to use the electronic clearing system (ECS) facility for debiting payments such as fees.
On Monday, these parents were surprised when bus conductors — holding a list — refused to allow their children to board. The parents then rushed to the school where the management refused to talk to them. This led to the ruckus, in which some windowpanes were broken. The parents were denied entry into the principal’s office. Police was subsequently called in by the management.
Hitesh Chaudhary, the parent of a class I student, said: “Some parents had gone to the school on Monday with cheques, cash, and credit cards to pay the fees. We were willing to pay the fees demanded by the school.” Chaudhary said the management refused to budge and insisted that the parents sign the ECS form.
A parent, who did not want to be identified, said: “A group of women went to meet the principal, but she refused to meet them. In fact, the parents were videographed.” The parents said that they were forced to resort to violence as they were not heard.
Rani Choudhury, the director of the
DPS schools, said: “In December 2017, we had informed the parents that we are going paperless and promoting digital transactions. Hence, we told them that all account-related work would be done through ECS.” Choudhury said that 2,600 parents had given consent and on Monday, as the schools reopened, about 40 to 50 created ruckus and damaged the principal’s office and the account’s office. “We had instructed the staff to remain calm,” she said. “The school is not going to lodge a complaint. The school management has already made it clear that it will abide by the fee committee’s decision and will refund fees if required.”
However, it was day of protest even in Ahmedabad. In Divine International School, Nikol, parents protested and then lodged a complaint with the police after the management demanded an additional fee of Rs 5,000 per student. Some parents and students of ID Patel school in Chanakyapuri staged a rally from Chanakyapuri to Gota, to the office of the fee committee. The school has increased it fees by Rs 6,800 per annum.
Some parents of the students of Divyapath School went to meet revenue minister and MLA from Naranpura, Kaushik Patel, to make a representation against the increase in fees.
FRC members meet education minister
The members of all the four Fee Regulatory Committees held a meeting with education minister Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama and education department officials. Chudasama said: “We wanted to know what their requirements were in terms of infrastructure. These are independent bodies and they will be free to take their own decisions about fee fixation.”
