Mumbai Mirror: Mumbai: Thursday, August 14, 2014.
Say education
officials approved 15% increase in school charges even though it has not justified
the hike.
More than 550
parents of students from Jogeshwari's Yashodham School have joined hands to
protest a controversial fee hike of 15 per cent.
The BMC's
education department, which only a few months ago had imposed a stay on any
such increase, cleared it by issuing a handwritten letter.
The Marathi
word for 'no', which may have been initially written to deny permission for the
increase, has been struck out on the letter. The parents, who started a
signature campaign against the hike on Tuesday, allege that education officials
may have changed their mind under political pressure.
"When we
demanded an explanation from an education officer, he told us that the school
had failed to provide documents justifying the fee hike. The officer said that
the increase was approved following pressure from senior officials, including
education department chairman Vinod Shelar," a parent, who didn't want to
be named, alleged.
Shelar,
however, denied pressuring any official for clearing the hike proposal.
Yashodham
School had first tried to increase the fees by a staggering 35 per cent in
December last year, saying it was in desperate need of funds. The parents,
however, protested against the decision, following which the management
announced that it would hike fees by 15 per cent in the first year and 20 per
cent in the second.
The parents
did not accept this structure, and approached the BMC's education department,
which stayed the hike. The department also ordered an inquiry to find out if
the school's finances were really in a shambles.
In July this
year, the dispute reached the police with the parents filing a complaint
against principal Chandrika Ragji and members of the Goenka Trust that runs the
school. Following the registration of an FIR, the school said that it was
withdrawing the fee hike.
However, on
August 2, the education department issued the controversial handwritten letter
saying that the stay had been lifted. The school then started calling parents
of primary students, asking them to pay charges as per the revised fee
structure.
Sanika Barje,
whose son studies in Std III, alleged that the management was using pressure
tactics to make parents pay higher charges. "The management informed us on
August 6that they had received a letter from the education department approving
the hike. They said we must hand over new cheques," Barje said.
"They
are calling us continuously. Even the principal is calling us, asking us to
take back our old cheques and give new ones."
The school is
seeking higher charges even though officials' inquiry into its earlier attempt
to raise fees is not complete. One of the parents, Ketan Kumbhar, has filed an
RTI query to know details of the inquiry.
"The
hand-written letter seems dubious an essential word has been deleted, which
changes the letter's meaning completely. I have filed an RTI application
demanding details of the inquiry report and the grounds on which the fee hike
has been cleared by education officials," Kumbhar said.
Education
department chairman Shelar, meanwhile, said there had been no attempt by senior
officials to push the hike through. "I have heard both the sides. School
officials claim they are in loss and the parents claim the management's
calculations are wrong. I will call a meeting of department officials, school
management and parents within two weeks, and resolve this issue," he said.
Principal
Chandrika Ragji did not respond despite Mirror's calls or messages.
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