SCPCR to act on fees taken from students enrolled under RTE

The National Association for Parents and Student Rights (NAPSR) submitted a memorandum on Monday to the State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) against a private school which is allegedly taking fees from the students enrolled under Right to Education (RTE). Also the private school’s auto/van drivers are taking arbitrary fare from the parents, the allegation runs. 

The  head of the association Arif Khan informed that they had received  complaints about Doon World School situated in Adhoiwala Dehradun that the students enrolled in the school under the Right to Education (RTE) were being forced to pay fees to the school which is Rs 550, later further  raised to Rs 1000. Fees taken under RTE by any school is wrong, he said, adding that without stopping there, the institution further hiked the fees and refused to talk to the parents. “Now the condition is such that they are threatening the parents to deposit the fees  or else their kids would be removed from the school. The parents filed a complaint to the education officer on July 30, but nothing has been done so far,” Khan said.

Another point raised with the commission was the arbitrary fare being allegedly taken by the auto drivers who ferry the students to the school. “The sudden spike in the fare by the private school van/ auto operators made the parents to switch to e-rickshaws which are not safe to transport the students,” Khan said.

The commission is said to have agreed to the view and asked for fixing per kilometre rate so that it becomes easy for the parents to send their children to the schools while it would also stop the operators from overcharging.

Hearing both the cases, the chairperson SCPCR Usha Negi gave notice to the Doon World School and informed the members of NAPSR that a meeting would be held with the department concerned so that something is done to solve the  problem of the fare hike effected by the school’s auto/van operators.