E-Paper
Parents, schools continue to spar over hike in fees
Bengaluru Two prominent parents associations in Bengaluru on Friday said that educational institutions continue to disobey the Karnataka government’s order to reduce school fees by about 30% on account of the covid- 19 pandemic
Bengaluru Two prominent parents associations in Bengaluru on Friday said that educational institutions continue to disobey the Karnataka government’s order to reduce school fees by about 30% on account of the covid- 19 pandemic.
The Voice of Parents-Karnataka Association and Karnataka Private Schools’ Parents Associations, the two organizations leading the fight against private school management’s, said that ICSE and CBSE school management’s have asked parents to approach them on a case-by-case basis.
“The ICSE and CBSE School managements Associations wanted the parents to approach
them on a case to case basis and submit our termination letter / bank pass book / pay slip /
etc to prove we merit a concession,” the two organizations said in a statement on Friday.
“Why must we bare all, they are no authority to peep into our finances, they must be subject to scrutiny, Audit and approval process on a case by case if any of them have a stake or claim to anything more than 70% of the Tuition fee ordered by the government,” the statement added.
The deadlock comes in the backdrop of a government order that directed private schools to slash fees for the upcoming academic year. The government has refused to monitor implementation of the order, leaving parents and school managements to fight amongst themselves.
The covid-19 pandemic had forced schools to take their academic calendar online to make up for physical closure of schools.
While the government has issued orders during the lockdown barring schools from demanding or increasing school fees, managements of several private academic institutions have carried on as usual.
The two sides have protested the action--and inaction--over the issue.
Private school associations have threatened to go on a strike from February 23 if the government does not renege the order.
Private schools have argued that they need money to pay its staff which the parents contest, stating that most of the teachers have been sacked or have received pay cuts by the management.
“If the Govt even considers rollback of even 1% Parents will come out on the streets again.There was an attempted suicide already for harassing the child, are they now waiting toloose the precious life of some child, before they wake up to the atrocities by schools,” the parents’ associations said on Friday.
