NEW DELHI: A day after Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that the government would adopt a zero-tolerance policy against fee hike several parents staged a protest outside the Delhi Directorate of Education office on Wednesday. They demanded an immediate rollback of the increased school fees and urged authorities to intervene.
There have been long-standing complaints by parents and guardians against “irregular and exorbitant” fee hikes by private unaided schools in the national capital.
They have also alleged coercive practices by schools, including denial of admit cards for board examinations and threats to strike off names of students over non-payment of what they describe as unauthorised fees.
Carrying placards with slogans like “Loot machana bandh karo (Stop looting)” and “Schools ki manmani band karo, hamari fees kam karo (Stop arbitrary actions, reduce our fees),” parents claimed that fee hikes were being implemented without prior notice or official approval.
They accused the schools of commercialising education and ignoring the financial stress faced by families. “My daughter studies in Class 9. Her school increased the fee without any notice or approval. When we try to meet the principal, we are either turned away or made to wait for weeks. And when we finally meet them, they say — if you can’t pay, take your child out of the school,” said one of the parents.
Another protester demanded not only a rollback of the recent fee hikes but also compensation for fee increases implemented over the past few years. “The school claims it has been running at a loss for the past four to five years and justifies the fee hike as a way to cover that,” he added.
Several parents also alleged that students were mentally harassed if fee payments were delayed. “Children are humiliated during school assemblies, and it affects them psychologically. How long will this go on?” asked Nitin Gupta, a parent.
Atulshree Kumari, another parent, said, “Last year, the school increased the fee by 30%. When we tried to negotiate, we were told nothing could be done. We are all suffering. How can parents manage when two or three of their children study in the same school?”