Fee protests spread to other pvt schools

Nagpur: The ongoing tussle between private school managements and parents over the alleged charging of fees for no activities during Covid-19 pandemic has spread to other schools. On Saturday, several aggrieved parents protested at Hingna’s St Xavier’s school, accusing the management of “looting” them in such a crisis.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Hemant Gadkari earlier led a delegation of parents to meet the principal of a Butibori international school on the same issue. They also requested the management not to charge their wards for library, laboratory, computers and other activities fees, as school is closed due to pandemic.
On Friday, aggrieved parents from Narayana Vidyalayam had staged protests in front of deputy director of education Anil Pardhi’s office on same issues requesting him to take action against the school management, after it discontinued online classes links of their wards for failure to pay fees. This was reported by TOI on Saturday.
In the last couple of months, parents from schools like Bhavan’s and Centre Point have also staged protests for same reasons with the help of an NGO.
“I’ve been approached by parents from various schools over the fees issue. They’re really in dire straits after facing job loss or salary deduction due to the ongoing crisis. The schools' management should at least think on humanitarian grounds to grant them some concessions. The parents told me that even the education department officials aren’t entertaining them,” Gadkari told TOI, while warning that MNS would join the parents in their protests if the government failed to act.
The parents protesting at St Xavier’s school said they gathered on the premises after management disconnected online classes link of their children for defaulting on fees.
“The school is demanding charges under various heads like building and sports, apart from library and laboratory. We wanted to request them to grant some concessions in view of pandemic times. Those having business hadn’t earned anything since the last four months. All of us are suffering one or other way,” they said.
According to them, no one from the administration was ready to talk and, therefore, they protested. “The school management is very insensitive to our genuine demands. For all these years, we never opposed, even as they hiked the fees,” they told TOI.
Dy dir asks schools to abide by fees regulation Act
Replying to parents allegations, deputy director of education Anil Pardhi called on the schools to abide by ‘Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011’ which had prescribed a process to charge fees. “The parents have lodged complaints of schools disconnecting online classes link and we will inquire into it. Regarding fees reduction, they should also refer to the Act, which was amended in 2018, where 25% of parents' total strength has to come together and table a proposal before the school management in this regard,” he said.