Student guardian forum demonstrates outside Directorate of Higher education
Shimla | TNR
The Himachal Pradesh Student Guardian Forum protested outside the Directorate of Higher Education on Wednesday morning demanding a ban on exorbitant fees and arbitrary fee hike by private schools. A delegation of parents met the director of higher education and handed over a seven-point demand letter.
Private schools, government criticised
Forum state convener Vijendra Mehra said private schools have been continuously engaged in such unjustified actions due to the failure of the state government which was hand-in-glove with private schools.
He alleged that private schools were extorting annual charges, computer, smart class rooms, sports, maintenance, infrastructure, building and transport charges to name a few.
Private schools had cleverly continued the loot by converting more than eighty per cent of the total fees and tuition fees during 2021, he said.
Parents who were unable to pay fees due to loss of employment during the Covid period were being threatened that a late fee of Rs 100 per day would be charged and that children would be disallowed to take online classes and removed from school, he added.
Violation of guidelines alleged
Mehra said that private schools were openly violating guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2014 and the Department of Education on December 5, 2019, on the issue of fee collection and were bypassing the role of the parents’ general body in decision making.
Private schools were also defying the 2016 decision of the Himachal Pradesh High Court which had stayed the collection of all kinds of charges, by collecting admission fees through the back door and levying annual charges.
Strict action demanded
He demanded strict action against such school managements at the earliest. The Student Parent Forum has also warned of instigating a movement against such unjustified and illegal actions by private schools.
