Demand to regulate school fee raised in Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: A demand to regulate the fee charged by private schools was made in Rajya Sabha on Sunday by a Congress MP, who said schools were also charging high rates for books and dresses.

Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Rajamani Patel of the Congress said "crores of rupees in commission" were being charged on school material and dresses that parents are forced to buy.

Schools are charging fees for even the holiday period, he said, adding the government should bring a bill to regulate fees charged by private schools to prevent the poor from exploitation.

Biswaji Daimary (BPF) demanded that the government strengthen road infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh particularly from Itanagar to Tawang to facilitate easy troop movement to counter any misadventure by China.

"China will not bomb Arunachal Pradesh because they claim Arunachal Pradesh is their land. They will come in from land (route) and you have to protect it from land (route)," he said.

Saroj Pandey of the BJP raised the issue of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana not being fully implemented in Chhattisgarh.

The scheme provides free access to healthcare to the poor.

However, when she sought to criticise the Congress-ruled state government, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu reminded her that she should place her demand and not get into criticism of state governments.

Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar of the TDP demanded that the policy of devotees giving a declaration of their faith in Lord Balaji before entering the famed Tirupati temple should continue.

Dinesh Trivedi of the TMC sought changes in dates for the NEET examination to be held between October 1 and 23, saying October 21, 22, and 23 are the most important days of the Durga puja festival.

"Kindly pre-pone or postpone the examination," he said.

Naidu said the demand should be conveyed to the Education minister.

While Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD raised the issue of Bihar facing a double onslaught of COVID and floods, Akhilesh Pratap Singh of the Congress raised the issue of inmates in Bihar jails rising by 20 per cent to 50,000 due to bail hearings being impacted by curtailed court functioning amid COVID-19.

Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (BJP), through a special mention, demanded bus service between all northeastern states.

Dola Sen of the TMC raised the issue of removal of subjects such as secularism, demonetisation, and challenges to democracy from the syllabus.