Bengaluru: Parents demand fee regulation, stage protest against private schools

In the midst of Deepavali and Children’s Day, hundreds of parents gathered at Freedom Park on Saturday to protest against private schools discriminating against children over the payment of fees.

Under the banner ‘Parent Community of Karnataka’, parents of students from over 40 schools in the city staged a protest for almost three hours, demanding the state government issue guidelines reducing the fee for the 2020-21 academic year owing to the pandemic and financial crisis.

During the protest, parents alleged that some of the private schools in the state have blocked online classes for children demanding that the fees be paid.

“The schools are discriminating against children by removing them from online classes. Though the parents have paid the fees for one term, the schools are demanding fees for the full term,” parents said.

“Deactivating online classes is curtailing the fundamental right of children under the Right to Education. We demand the government issue stringent guidelines for schools.”

The parents alleged that private schools were starting online tutorials and have even started selling books online by charging extra. The protesting parents said they will meet the chief minister and the primary education minister and submit a memorandum on the issue.