Parents to protest fee hike via hunger strike

Mumbai: The parents of children studying in 17 privately-run schools will go on an indefinite hunger strike from April 20 at Azad Maidan to protest the exorbitant fee hike and other charges collected by unaided schools.

NGO, Forum for Fairness in Education (FFE), a parents-teachers body, said that despite an order by the education minister, the fee hike was not scrapped.

Currently, privately-run schools charge fees under different heads such as admission fees, security deposit, computer, activity fees, Karate fees, and dancing class fees, due to which, city-based parents will go on an indefinite hunger strike from Thursday to protest the fee hike for the new academic session.

Jayant Jain, president, FFE said that no certain action taken against the exorbitant fee hike. “As per rules, schools can hike fees every two years but some schools are raising fees every year,” he said.

“The meetings with the ministry are all in vain. Parents from the city have admitted that schools have hiked fees in the range of 50 to 80 per cent and no legal action has been initiated against the school management,” he said.

An officer from the education department however said, “We are working on this issue. We need some time and we are on talking terms with the management of the schools that have increased their fees.”