Pune: Activists of the Shikshan Hakka Manch protested outside the office of the Education Commissioner at the Central Building in Camp, on Tuesday, over the issue of illegal fee hikes by aided schools in the State.
Giving details about the issue, Matin Mujawar, education activist, Shikshan Hakka Manch, said, “Over 60 per cent of the government-aided schools in the city charge capitation fees from their students. This ranges between Rs 3,000 and Rs 15,000. It is usually recovered as charges for technology, app development, etc. This is illegal, yet the schools are easily getting away with it.”
Mujawar has submitted a memorandum to Education Commissioner Vipin Sharma to look into the matter and take action. “We have given them the names of six schools in Pune district, two in the city, and four in Baramati, where such instances have been reported. Yet, no action has been taken against these schools. We have requested the Education Commissioner to check the accounts of these schools and interrogate, not just the management, but also the principals of the schools.”
These schools are the St Anne’s School and the St Vincent School in Camp, the Mahatma Gandhi Balak Mandir, the VP Marathi Secondary School Vidyanagari, the Kavi Moropant Shikshan Saunstha Vidyamandir, the MES Nirmala Haribhau Deshpande Primary School, and the MES Gajanan Deshpande School in Baramati.
