Parents protest outside Directorate of Education over alleged school fee hike in Delhi, demand rollback

New Delhi: Several parents held a protest outside the Delhi Directorate of Education office on Wednesday, demanding an immediate rollback of hiked school fees and an intervention by authorities into the matter.

There have been long-standing complaints by parents and guardians against "irregular and exorbitant" fee hikes by private unaided schools in the national capital.

They have also alleged coercive practices by schools, including denial of admit cards for board examinations and threats to strike off names of students over non-payment of what they describe as unauthorised fees.

Carrying placards with slogans such as "Loot machana bandh karo (stop looting)" and "schools ki manmani band karo, hamari fees kam karo (stop the capricious attitude, reduce the fees)," the parents claimed that fee hikes were being enforced without prior notification or official approval.

They accused the schools of commercialising education and ignoring the financial stress faced by families.

"My daughter studies in class 9. Her school hiked the fee without any notice or clearance. When we try to meet the principal, we are either turned away or made to wait for weeks. And when we finally meet them, they say — if you can't pay, take your child out of school," Ajit Singh told PTI.

Another protester demanded that not only should the recent fee increase be rolled back, but parents should also be compensated for the hikes implemented over the past few years.

"The school claims it has been running at a loss for the past four to five years and justifies fee hike as a means to cover it," he added.

Several parents also alleged that students faced mental harassment at schools if the fee payment was delayed.

"Children are humiliated during school assemblies and they are affected by it psychologically. How long will this continue?" posed Nitin Gupta, a parent.

Atulshree Kumari, another parent, said, "Last year, school fee was increased by 30 per cent. When we tried to negotiate, we were told nothing could be done. We are all suffering, how can parents manage when two or three of their children are studying in the same school?" Protesters also pointed out that in the past two years, some schools have increased fees by as much as 45 per cent without due approval. "Now they're even running evening classes -- this is all business," said another parent.

Parents also complained about the increasing "commercialisation" of education schools. They alleged that school managements force them to buy books, stationery, uniforms, and other materials directly from the school at inflated prices, sometimes double the market rate.

"If we can buy the same items at half the price in the market, why are we forced to pay double at school?" asked another parent.

The issue has taken up a political hue with Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi taking a dig at the BJP and challenging Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to immediately stop fee hikes in all private schools.

On Tuesday, CM Gupta said notices have been issued to schools over complaints of arbitrary fee hikes and asserted that her government was committed to transparency and protection of children's right to education.