Maha govt must ask schools to cancel fee hikes: BJP leader

In a letter to state school education minister Varsha Gaikwad, Shelar said all school boards should be directed to reduce fees by 10 per cent.

Senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Wednesday urged the Maharashtra Government to direct all schools to cancel their fee hikes for the coming academic year in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown.

In a letter to state school education minister Varsha Gaikwad, Shelar said all school boards should be directed to reduce fees by 10 per cent.

Schools have planned a 10 to 30 per cent hike in fees and several parents have complained about it, the BJP leader said, claiming that there was fear among the parent community.

He further pointed out that the Union HRD ministry had passed orders cancelling fee hikes at IITs, while the Uttar Pradesh government had done so for schools.

By taking classes online during the pandemic, schools were expected to save at least 20 to 25 per cent of their operational costs due to reduced water and power consumption among other things, Shelar stated in the letter.