Now, Ghaziabad private school witnesses massive protest by parents over fee hike

In yet another case of fee hike by private schools, more than 50 parents protested against the t on Monday morning. They have demanded a rollback of the recent fee hike in the school.

The infuriated parents alleged that though they had submitted several written complaints against the 'loot' by school management, there has been nothing substantial yet. The protesters raised slogans against the school and then later protested in front of DIOS office in Ghaziabad.

The parents alleged that the senior officials of District Administrations are having hand in glove with the private school managements. "In spite of initiating action against the school managements, some officials are compelling them to remain mum", shouted the parents. They have warned that if the administration did not take actions, they will go on indefinite hunger strike.

"There are many parents among us who were compelled by the school managements to purchase books and uniform from a particular shop. We have made several written complaints to the administration but no actions are taken yet", said one such parent.

Concerned over the recurring protests against the fee hike, the District Magistrate of Ghaziabad District, Nidhi Kesarvani called a meeting between the parents and the officials of school management on Tuesday."We have called the parents and officials from school management to have a discussion over the fee hike. Both the parties will be free to present their respective concerns. We will take appropriate actions after listening to them," said Nidhi Kesarvani, District Magistrate, Ghaziabad.

Fee hike in private schools is a burning topic where troubled groups of parents are leading a series of protests and demonstrations against various private schools across Delhi-NCR on a daily basis. The big players such as Delhi Public School and Amity International School have hiked their fees beyond a reasonable rate.

On the other side, the school management seems unmoved over both the protests and the future of students. The example of such came into light when Delhi Public School in Gautam Buddh Nagar rusticated nearly 60 students when the parents failed to pay the stated fees. The rustications were later rolled back after their parents fulfilled their demands.

It is to be noted that the state government had constituted fee regulatory bodies at divisional level to put a check on the private school. As the directions of the body, the management of the private school cannot exceed the fee more than a fixed percentage than the previous year. But, flouting all the norms, most of the schools are increasing the fee arbitrarily.