Parents Forum of Students has decided to gherao Directorate of Education on 5 November demanding withdrawal of recommendations authorizing private schools and institutes to charge full fees. The forum has urged the state government not to accept the proposals of the education department sent for approval in this matter.
Announcing this, the convener of the Forum Vijendra Mehra, co-convenor Bindu Joshi, and members Vivek Kashyap, Phalma Chauhan, Jai Chand, Rakesh Rocky, Rajendra Kumar and Shailendra Kumar in joint statement have said that there are total of six lakh students studying in the private schools from 10 lakh parents. The Forum has decided to boycott payment of full fees being levied. The Forum also rejected the cabinet decision on full fees collection by private schools which is anti-people. After the decision, private schools have started harassing students and parents mentally. Private schools and institutions have again started sending mobile messages to students and parents for depositing full fees. In these messages, they are being threatened, if full fees are not deposited, the students will not only be expelled from the institutes but they will not be allowed to appear in the examinations, either.
Vijender Mehra has said that the state government must not take the side of private schools. If such a collusion existed after non-withdrawal of earlier orders of collectionof full fees, the Forum will come out in direct confrontation with the government. The Forum wants clear notification on fee waiver in fresh notification restraining school managements to stop threatening the students and parents.
The Forum had already sent representations to to the Chief Minister, Education Minister, Education Secretary and Director of Education, strongly objected to the earlier decision.
The Forum has given details of running of private schools and institutions and how the parents were under burden of buying new smart phones on the pretext of online classes, without caring for the connectivity problems in hilly areas. The Forum expressed surprise that the cabinet of the state government was allowing private institutions to charge fees, but for tuition fee.
