A contingent of parents gathered outside Indirapuram Public School in Pratap Vihar, Ghaziabad on Sunday protesting against the fee hike.
In the two-hour-long protest, the parents alleged that the school hiked its fee on the name of annual charges. They have demanded an explanation from the institution and a rollback of the hike.
Also, the protesters demanded that the school share the details of expenses. Some parents have also written to the director, school education department.
"We are planning to approach district education officials to obtain Form 6 which has details of the fee structure and finances of schools. Further, we will meet the Fee and Fund Regulatory Committee, demanding a fee audit if we find any irregularities in the form," echoed the parents.
"We have also approached the district education office and requested officials to speak to the school about the hike. There is already a 10 percent annual hike in the school fees.
The additional hike is a burden on salaried parents" said the protester.
According to another protester, in the last two years, fees have been increased by 30-40 percent.
"There is no place for poor students in our education system. We have now planned to write an application which will be handed over to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad. The application will be signed by a maximum number of parents who are against the fee hike. We seek strict and immediate actions to be taken against the school management and the hike should get rolled back.
If our demands are not met, we will continue to protest outside the school and will write to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditya Nath seeking his intervention", said Manish, another protester.
On the other hand, school management stated that the hike is reasonable keeping in mind the facilities provided.
"We will not rollback our decision and the fees are raised only after receiving the consent from parents," said an official from school management.
Photo Credit: Mpost