The high court set aside the state government’s parent-friendly July 15 resolution on fee hikes on Wednesday, ruining parents’ hopes of the government resolution being implemented this year. While school managements are elated about the high court’s ruling, parents’ bodies have been left despairing.
The GR had set stricter guidelines for school managements, asking schools to set up websites and reveal the schools’ balance sheet and fee hike structure on it. The members of the Unaided Schools’ Management Forum moved court citing the misuse of information on public websites.
Jayant Jain from the Forum for Fairness in Education, which has been protesting against the fee hike, said, “The state has not argued well. Only a mass movement can stop this profiteering business. Parents should refuse to pay the hike if it is not legitimate. The schools won’t be able to expel students because of the Right to Education Act. We are planning to start a mass movement within few days. The state government has to regulate fees in private schools.”
A parent from a Mumba Devi school said, “It is unfair if the school is hiking fees by 20% every year. There needs to be some regulation. The state should be initiating action against parents’ complaints. The government did not fight its case properly in court.”
Meanwhile, school managements are content with the court’s order. Sandeep Goenka, trustee of Billabong School, Thane, said, “We had opposed clauses like the one asking for disclosure of information on the website. It is good that the court has struck down the government order.”
Rohan Bhatt, principal of Children’s Academy, said, “There is no need for a blanket policy for all schools; they should initiate action only against the errant schools. Why should all schools suffer when only a handful of them are protesting? Hardly 5 % of schools do not get along with their PTAs. The court has done the right thing by striking down the order.”
The state government is yet to decide its plan of action. School education minister Balasaheb Thorat said, “We are yet to go through the court order and will be unable to talk on the issue. We do not want parents to be exploited for fee hike related issues.”
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