Parents protest as schools demand full fees in one go

Parents' groups from two prominent schools in South Bengaluru staged protests on Monday against the "exorbitant fees" even as the new academic year is to begin in less than two weeks.

Parents said schools were forcing them to pay the fees in full by threatening to block access to online classes. "The schools aren't even giving us the option of paying the fees in instalments. They want the entire fee in one go," a parent said.

B N Yogananda, General Secretary, RTE Students' and Parents' Association, urged the state government to intervene.

"A majority of the private schools function out of CA sites allotted by the government. They are harassing parents over fee payments. The government must act against them," he said.

The fee row erupted last year after parents complained that schools had insisted on full payments though no physical classes were held for students of grades 1-8. The government later stepped in and ordered that schools cannot collect more than 70% of the fees.

This year, the row resurfaced days after the government released the academic calendar for 2021-22, specifying the start of online classes from July 1 onwards.