Ranchi admin’s order prohibiting schools from hiking fees suspended

Ranchi: The Ranchi district administration has kept its order prohibiting schools from increasing fee and levying other charges in abeyance.
The decision was taken after representatives of five schools from Sahodaya group of Ranchi met the deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan and pleaded that it would be difficult for them to run their schools if the order was implemented.
Notably, the district administration had on Thursday issued an order stating that there would be no fee hike in schools in 2021-22 session. It further stated that schools should not take annual charges, transport fee and other levies till they remain closed.
Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan said, “The matter has been referred to the department for its view. The order has been kept in abeyance till direction comes from the higher authorities.”
The principal of Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Samarjit Jana, said, “During the meeting, the DC wanted assurance from the schools that they would not expel students or deprive them of online classes in case of non-payment of fees. We are already considering the cases of students facing economic hardship.”
Jana said that schools, too, are under constraints due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that many schools have closed down while others are paying teachers half their salary. He added, “Last year, we managed without levying additional charges except tuition fees but it would not be possible to run the schools like that this year.”
Among the principals in attendance were Manohar Lal of Gurunanak higher secondary school, M K Sinha of DAV Hehal, M K Sinha of DAV Kapildeo and Neeraj Sinha of Firayaal Public School.
Jharkhand Parents Association (JPA) president Ajay Rai said, “The administration should have taken the decision after a detailed consideration. This step to keep the order under suspension would create confusion among parents. We are likely to hold a meeting on the issue soon.”
Meanwhile ,JPA said that its members on Monday submitted a memorandum to the district authorities of Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamshepdur, Giridih, Deoghar and Pakur demanding formation of district-level fee fixation committee.