Expressing concern over the steep increase in fees collected by private schools in the State, State Secretary of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Malavika Gubbivani urged the State government to immediately step in and protect the parents of the students from the “extortion” under the pretext of fees.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Monday, Ms. Gubbivani said many people prefer private schools due to deterioration of education and mismanagement in government schools. But, “fee racket” in private educational institutions is going out of control, she lamented.
Citing the example of AAP government in Delhi, which had reined in private schools in the national capital, Ms. Gubbivani urged the State overnment to take necessary steps to protect the parents from the “fee scam” of private schools “atleast in this academic year”.
As the State government failed to present a strong argument, the High Court ruled that the State government does not have the authority to fix fees for private educational institutions. With the management of private schools proposing to increase the fees by 15 per cent year after year, the Chief Minister should immediately convene a meeting to discuss the court’s order with legal experts and take necessary action in the regard, she felt.
Families are forced to spend significant amount of their income on educating their children in private schools. The officials of the Education Department should visit the private schools to keep a track on the increase in fees and prevail upon them to reduce the fees if it is high.
She said the “fees scam” in private schools is neglected by the politicians as a large number of private educational institutions are owned by politicians.
The private schools are not only increasing the fees, but are also deciding where the students should buy their uniforms and shoes, she said.
