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Parents up in arms against school tactics to earn more money
Parents of students studying in a private school in Nasik, in association with the Forum Against Commercialisation of Education, staged a rally seeking the intervention of the education department regarding miscellaneous fees charged by schools.
In what could be a first in the country, parents of children studying in a private school in Nasik, in association with the Forum Against Commercialisation of Education, protested by staging a rally last week seeking the intervention of the civic body's education department into the miscellaneous fees charged by the school and the compulsion for buying uniform and other academic material from it or the suggested stores.
It is a known phenomenon across the country that throughout the year parents are forced to shell out money under some pretext or the other, while at the beginning of the year it is a mandate to buy uniform or academic material only from suggested stores. That the parents have finally decided to take matters in their hands is a laudable first step against the increasing strong arm tactics used by schools.
The rally began from Swatantreya Veer Savarkar Swimming Pool and proceeded to the education department's office. "There are many issues since many days and we have tried to talk it out with the school authorities, but they were not prepared to listen. They charge Rs 100 per day for late fee, ask us to buy books from them for Rs 200 whereas we can get the same book for Rs 80 online, notebooks that cost Rs 13.50 in the shops are sold for Rs 26," said Pramod Bagul, a parent.
Mukund Dixit, a member of FACE said, "The school charged fees for readmission – from pre-primary to primary, from primary to secondary and from secondary to XIth standard. Sometimes annually 12 % is charged."
Education department's administrative officer Umesh Dongre said, "We had already sent them a notice on the fee issue. We will inquire into all the complaints and will do what we can."
If the education department works hand in glove with parents, this will be a precedent for parents across India to wrest back control from schools regarding basic things like where to buy uniforms, study material etc.
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