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Edu dept to take action against schools pressuring parents for fee payment
Even as the state education department has warned schools against putting pressure on parents for delayed payment of fees, several schools in the city are now using
Even as the state education department has warned schools against putting pressure on parents for delayed payment of fees, several schools in the city are now using coercive means to push parents into paying.
Barely three days after the education department released a list of nodal officers to address complaints from parents, officers said they have been flooded with calls from parents. “I get nearly 10-20 calls each day from parents of different schools saying the school is pressuring them. We are taking note of all the complaints and will start sending notices to the schools from Monday,” said Bhaskarrao Babar, assistant director, Mumbai region.
On Thursday, parents of Oxford International School in Kandivli (East) said some of them were removed from the school’s online learning group citing non-payment of dues. “We regret to inform you that students who have not paid the dues will not be a part of the online teaching group,” read a message sent to the parents by the school management. “We have complained to the education department on behalf of the parents. It is really unfair that the school is treating children in this manner in a crisis situation,” said Chetan Pednekar, vice-president, Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarti Sena.
When HT contacted Avinash Jadhav, trustee of the school, he said, “We were not aware of the fact that such a message had gone to the parents. I have asked the school principal to get it fixed. Parents won’t have to worry as their children would be added back.”
Another school in Andheri asked teachers to call parents to remind them about fee payment. “Some of us have not been able to clear dues owing to the current situation. Every day, we get calls from teachers asking us to deposit the money. This is no less than torture,” said another parent.
According to a Government Resolution released in the first week of May, schools cannot hike fees for the academic year 2020-21 and have to allow parents to pay fees in instalments.
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