A group of parentsfrom the state have started an online petition to the ministry of human resource development demanding a cap and control on increase of fees by private schools every year.
According to the online petition, most schools increase fees by more than 10-15% every year and most often are unwilling to provide proof for claims of inflation, increased teacher salaries.Started by Makarand Gurjar, a parent from the state, the online petition on the website change.org had garnered support from over 285 people in less than 24 hours of being created.
'The reasons given by school for fee hike are inflation, increased teachers' salary and claim that the hike has been done with approval of parents teachers' association (PTA) members every year. But, whenever parents ask schools to share details when the fees are approved, they aren't provided,' said the petition. Currently , in Maharashtra, schools are expected to follow the fee regulation act 2011 which states that fees can be increased only once in two years and all approvals for a hike more than 15% must need the permission from the executive committee consisting of PTA members. Parents in the city have been at loggerheads with schools on several occasions. 'The schools increase fees arbitrarily but what makes the fight more difficult is the nature of education department officials. We often are made to run around to register a complaint and schools influence the decisions through unfair means,' said a parent who is currently fighting a fee hike against a school in Dadar.