School students. Image for representation.
Credit: iStock Photo
A government-run Karnataka Public School (KPS) in K R Pet in Mandya district has been accused of collecting fees from students although the institution is supposed to impart education free of cost.
Parents have alleged that the school is charging between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 as annual fees per student. “When we questioned the school about this, the authorities informed us that they were collecting fees because they were offering education in English medium,” the parent of one of the students at the school said.
In fact, it is not just the parents, but also members of the School Development Monitoring Committee that have complained to the Block Education Officer about the practice of collecting fees at the KR Pet school. “But the BEO has taken no action,” rued another parent.
The KPS at KR Pet was started in 2018-19 to offer education to students from pre-primary to class 12 under one roof, with demand for English-medium classes being in high demand.
In fact, some of the students have even been issued receipts acknowledging payment of fees to the school, which, incidentally, were collected under the name of a private coaching institute. Some of the parents said that they were asked to credit the fee directly to the joint bank account registered under the names of the SDMC chairman and the school principal.
Puligeraiah, the in-charge principal of the school, said that he had reported to duty only on July 1, and was not aware of the issue. “There are more than 2,384 children enrolled at the KR Pet school,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of School Education has sought a report from the Mandya Deputy Director of Public Instruction about the allegations.