Parents initiate social media campaign urging SoBo school to reduce fees

Parents of several students of Gopi Birla Memorial School in Walkeshwar have started an online campaign urging the school management to reduce school fees as several parents have faced losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the past few days, several parents have taken to social media and raised concerns about the school’s fee structure. “The school is charging around ₹1.9 lakh for senior KG which is not an issue for us otherwise, but in the current scenario where so many people have lost their jobs and faced losses in business we had requested the authorities to reduce fees. The school, however, did not listen to our demands,” said a parent of a Class 2 student on the condition of anonymity.

Parents alleged that the school has stopped providing videos and online classes to children whose parents demanded a reduction in fees. “This is against the Right to Education (RTE) Act and is unjust. We had requested them to waive off charges for extra-curriculars like yoga, music etc which are not taking place currently,” said another parent.

Nearly 500 parents are yet to pay the fees and have said that they would pay it if the school agrees to reduce some charges.

When HT tried contacting the school, school principal Veena Srivastava said, “I do not owe you or anyone an explanation about fees. Our Parents Teacher Association has approved the fee structure.”

Parents, however, said the school has not formed a PTA by due process over the past three years. “We have requested them to elect a PTA as per the process, but the school has not responded to our demand,” said a parent.

The school has scheduled assessments for students in the first week of August and parents are worried about having to give it a miss.

An official from the education department said the school cannot stop students from writing their exams in any case. “While fee fixation is the PTA’s prerogative, no child can be denied right to education. Parents can write to the department,” said the official.

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