Parents demand action over school fee concerns in Maharashtra, stage protest

Parents of several private schools across Maharashtra assembled outside Azad Maidan on Wednesday protesting against the state government’s inaction over their long-pending demands.

Parents of several private schools across Maharashtra assembled outside Azad Maidan on Wednesday protesting against the state government’s inaction over their long-pending demands.

Parents of several private schools across Maharashtra assembled outside Azad Maidan on Wednesday protesting against the state government’s inaction over their long-pending demands. (HT Photo)

Parents’ associations from various parts of the state joined the protest. While the protest began on Wednesday morning, until evening, parents had not left the protest venue. “We are not going to move from here until we get a response from the government over our complaints. We want some firm decision and action from the authorities,” said Anubha Sahai, president of the Indiawide Parents Association.

Jayant Jain, president of Forum for Fairness in education which had organised the protest said the government was not concerned about the issues of parents. “Over the last several months, parents have been writing about issues with respect to fee hikes and the indiscriminate fees charged by schools during the pandemic. Some students are also facing the brunt of this as schools are harassing them for non-payment or pending dues. This needs to be addressed immediately and we will not stop our protest until the government provides relief in the issue,” he added.

A parent from Navi Mumbai who attended the protest said that he had skipped work only to fight against the injustice meted out against students. “Private schools are not listening to anyone. Even as we have faced salary cuts, schools continue charging us the same as before. Our complaints made to the state education department have also not been looked into,” he added.

A government resolution released on May 8, 2020 stated that schools should stay all fee hikes for the current academic year and have to allow parents to pay fees in installments. The GR was, however, stayed by the Bombay High Court on June 26 in response to a petition by several organisations of private school owners. The petitioners had argued that the government cannot regulate fees of private schools as per the current rules.