In cities across Maharashtra such as Mumbai and Nagpur, parents are protesting the fee hike in schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Some of the CBSE and state schools are also making it compulsory to buy books and uniform from vendors selected by them which are also one of the reasons for the parents’ protest.
On Wednesday a Nagpur-based private school parent association has met Zilla Parishad education officers, Dr S N Patwe and Chintaman Wanjari, against an annual hike in fee in some CBSE schools. There is a law of Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011 that allows schools to raise the fee only once in two years with approval from parent-teacher association. Parents were assured of a written response within the next two days.
Yogesh Pathare a member of the parent association said that “There is no transparency in the affairs of the management. Education should not be turned into a business. Three years ago, the fee for Class IV was Rs 23,000, which has now been increased to Rs 46,000.”
Members of the India Wide Parents Association and Yuva Sena have met school education minister Ashish Shelar on June 26, in opposition to the proposed amendments to the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011.
