NOIDA: The parents of students of Delhi Public School in Noida took to Twitter on Tuesday to protest against the institution’s latest demand for annual fee for the concluding session. Initially, the school had waived the fee during the lockdown.
The parents have also lodged their complaints with the school management on the same. However, the school has justified this fee as “reasonable”.
The school wrote to the parents, seeking half the annual fee ‘in three equal instalments’, the sum of which is approximately Rs 15,000, from March.
The parents called this “an unjust demand”, saying they are “already under financial pressure”.
“Most parents were forced to take salary cuts and some even lost jobs during the pandemic. Introducing the annual fee now in the last month of the academic year is uncalled for. Anyway, schools have regularised offline classes and from April, all parents would have to pay normal fees and charges, then why are they being saddled with last year’s fee now? This means we need to pay double charges this time,” said a parent, Anumeha Jha Mishra.
DPS has, however, been among a few schools in Noida that charged not the “composite fee” but just the tuition fee from its students during the pandemic period.
School principal Kamini Bhasin said: “With improved financial conditions in the country and vaccine bringing new hope, the management feels that the parents’ need to share a portion of the overhead expenses incurred for imparting online teaching, maintenance of school building and infrastructure in working condition, paying electricity bills – all of which lead to safe and secure classes, exams and other activities for the students. Therefore, the school has requested the parents to pay only 50% of the annual charges and that also in three equal instalments, which the management feels is quite reasonable.”
Another parent Gita Rajan, said: “We understand that the school has done a decent job with the online classes but the parents had to make huge adjustments for the same. We had to buy gadgets for our children. So, technically it has not been inexpensive for us.”
President All Noida School Parents Association Yatendra Kasana said: “We do not support the ad hoc imposition of fee by any institute – parents are still facing financial difficulties, the government has shown sufficient consideration and now is not the time for schools to introduce old fees when the session is almost over and examinations are in progress. This is undue harassment.”