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Chaos marks fee hike protest at HBK

Refused entry inside school, more than 2,000 parents get violent at HB Kapadia school in Memnagar.

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It was an action-packed day at HB Kapadia School in Memnagar on Thursday. A major ruckus broke out after nearly 2,000 parents moved from being a quiet group reportedly seeking an audience with the school trustee to a violent mob forcing its way through the gate.  Parents had gathered at the school to protest the fee hike from the current academic year.

The restlessness began after they were made to wait for nearly five hours despite having an appointment with the trustee.

When the metal grill of the entry gate was closed to stop them, some of them started scaling the walls, all the while shouting slogans against the school authorities. Flower pots lining the pathway to the building were damaged in the melee. Angry parents even shouted slogans against trustee Muktak Kapadia and demanded roll-back of the fee hike.

In a bid to discourage parents from entering the building, authorities stationed students and teachers near the metal grill at the entrance of the school building.  
The issue has been ongoing for a while now. There have been oppositions since the time the school management decided to increase the fee for students of all classes. Parents claim that a 17% hike has been announced for primary classes.

Unhappy with the hike, they decided to meet trustee Muktak Kapadia. “He had called us to meet up at 7 am on Thursday. Around 2,000 parents gathered at the school. But he was stubborn enough not to come out of his cabin and discuss or listen to problems faced by parents. We waited till noon. By then, many parents were irked because of his attitude. That was when the problem started,” said Haresh Patel, a parent.   

He said, the school authorities charge Rs1,200 (Rs100 per month) for providing smart boards in class. “Starting this year, they increased this fee to Rs15,500.

Once a smart board has been purchased, will it take a million rupees for maintenance? What is the purpose of increasing fee for such facilities? They have increased fee for other facilities too,” he said. He claimed that the parents were manhandled by police called by the management. He even hinted that parents who lead such protest are victimised and their children have to leave school.

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