Delhi schools hiking fees, blocking virtual classes, say parents

While many schools have raised their fees for the new academic session, several of them have allegedly blocked the contact numbers of the parents who have not been able to pay, preventing students from accessing online classes. St. Thomas School in Dwarka has added a new column of ‘Personal Health and Hygiene’ in its fees structure. The parents now have to pay Rs 300 quarterly for personal hygiene and health of their children. “Amid the lockdown, the schools should waive of the fees or at least give us time to pay. When contacted, a member of the school’s management committee, Aman Gautam, said the decision of fee hike was being revisited. “Witnessing the crisis, the school management committee held a meeting and is planning to withdraw the revised fee structure as a relief to the parents. The parents association of JM International School filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights alleging the school blocked the online classes for the parents who failed to pay the fees. Binay Bhushan, Director, DoE, said “offices are closed, so we have not received any complaint”. Advocate Ashok Agarwal, who has done a lot of work in the education sector, said, “The private schools have enough money to pay salaries to the teachers. The Delhi government should take a stand and issue an order or advisory to the schools regarding waive-off and fee hike.”