Parents demand rollback of school fee hike, stage protest

Guardians protested against the alleged arbitrary fee hike of a school and blocked the road at Park Street on Monday morning during peak hours. The protesters, carrying placards demanding a rollback of the hiked fee and action against the school, gathered in the morning causing massive traffic congestion in the area.

"They did not inform us before hiking the fee. The school authority suddenly increased the development fee and we did not have any idea about it," said a guardian of Jewish Girls' school. The traffic cops had a tough time controlling the protesters.

Even after repeated requests from the cops to withdraw the blockade, the guardians remained steadfast and outrightly refused to bulge. They even started face-to-face fight with the on-duty police officers. The school authority, meanwhile, has given assurances to discuss the matter with the protesting guardians.

In a recent statement, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that fees in schools should not be hiked arbitrarily. In such cases, she said she would even meet the head of private schools to discuss the issue and also asked state Education minister Partha Chatterjee to talk to them regarding the same. The Chief Minister had also expressed her willingness to talk to the school authorities if need be.

In a separate incident, the guardians of Bodhicariya Senior Secondary School at New Town also protested against the arbitrary admission fee hike on Monday. "The school authority increased the fee in this financial year. The hike is quite high and it is looking impossible for us to manage with this fee hike," said a parent. Guardians protested in front of Panchasayar Sishu Niketan against the arbitrary fee hike. They staged a demonstration in front of the school on Monday. "The school

authority increased the session fee to Rs 1,000 from Rs 650," said a guardian.