Airoli school rubbishes parents’ demand for stay on fee hike
Several parents of students at VIBGYOR High School, Airoli have raised concerns over the school’s decision of not revoking a fee hike which it had imposed a few months before the Covid-19 outbreak. In a written plea to the school, around 50 parents have demanded that the fee hike be revoked in the light of the current situation. However, the school has refused to revoke their decision.
“The school has hiked fees by 8%-10% for each class which we did not object to earlier. But with the current situation wherein people are losing their jobs and getting pay cuts, many parents are finding it difficult to pay the fees, hence we have asked the school to scrap the hike but there is no response from their end yet,” said a parent of a Class 1 student.
In a Government Resolution (GR) released in the first week of May, schools have been asked to stay all fee hikes for the academic year 2020-21 and also allow parents to pay fees in instalments. The GR is applicable for all schools in the state irrespective of the board they are affiliated to.
Rustom Kerawalla, chairman of VIBGYOR group of schools, said the school had imposed the hike in February and hence did not revoke it. “As a school, we also have a lot of expenditure to take care of like rent, payments to staff members, maintenance etc. However for parents who cannot pay fees due to genuine reasons, we have introduced a scholarship system. They can apply for it and submit the required documentary proof. Such parents would be given some relaxations in fee payments,” he added.
Parents, however, said they wanted the school to revoke the hike for everyone. “If fees cannot be reduced, at least they should not be increased,” said another parent.