Parents Association writes to Sonia Gandhi for regulating school fees

NEW DELHI - Unhappy over arbitrary fee hikes in private schools across the county, the All India Parents Association Saturday asked the National Advisory Council Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to recommend to the central government bringing a law to regulate fees in schools.

The association in a letter to Gandhi said that while the government schools lack basic academic infrastructure, the good quality unaided private schools exploit the parents by charging huge amounts.

Ashok Agarwal, member of the association, said: “The common man is unable to provide quality school education to his child because, on one hand, the government schools lack basic physical and academic infrastructure and suffer from cruel mismanagement resulting in inferior quality of education.”

“On the other hand, the good quality unaided private schools mercilessly exploit the parents and the students by subjecting them to arbitrary, unjust and exorbitant fees and other charges,” he added.

Calling it a violation of Right to Free Education, the letter said: “The Constitution of India mandates the State to provide free and compulsory good quality elementary education to all the children up to the age of fourteen years.”

“The unaided private schools are only extended hands of the State and therefore, are also obliged to provide free education to the children. Unfortunately, such a constitutional mandate has remained elusive all through. The students and the parents are being virtually looted by the greedy school managements under the patronage of the government. Thus, the child rights violation is rampant,” it said.

“In view of the above facts and circumstances, it is requested that you may kindly look into this matter on urgent basis and make necessary recommendations to the central government to bring a central law to regulate fees and other charges in unaided private schools all over the country,” it added.