Fee war between school, parents takes ugly turn

The fee war between parents and private school managements took an ugly turn with several parents of Glendale academy filing a police complaint against the school management over alleged default in following government order 46 on fee collection during the lockdown.

Parents who filed the complaint claimed that the school had been charging the full fee in place of the nominal tuition fee. A parent said, “We have written several emails and sent representations to the school management to review the fee being charged during the lockdown. We demanded the break-up of the 'term fee' being levied, but the management never provided a satisfactory answer.”

The parents demanded that the school management charge only the nominal tuition fee on a monthly basis, since the students are only taking three hours of online classes. Rejecting the charges, Minu Salooja, assistant director, Glendale education group, said the complaint was for the education department to deal with. “Registering a police complaint is not just.” She said she had been in contact with most parents.

The school management said it had complied with the government order to roll back the fee to last year’s level and collect it on a monthly basis.

Responding to complaints that the online classes of students who failed to pay the fees had been blocked, the management said, “Some parents who have gone through a sudden loss of jobs and who have had closure of their businesses have approached us individually and we felt our responsibility to support them and have done so.”

Rajendra Nagar subinspector, Balraj, who is looking into the complaint, said the school has submitted all documents and given an explanation of the charges. Police will take a decision with regard to action after a detailed inquiry. So far, there has been no response from the education department.

Meanwhile, the national commission for protection of child rights (NCPCR) on Friday took cognizance of a complaint filed by Telangana parents association for child rights and safety (TPACRS) regarding school tuition fee and online classes regulation in Telangana.

The NCPCR has issued a notice to the commissioner and director of school education to examine the matter and take immediate action following state laws, regulatory norms and rules in this regard. The commission also asked the school education department to consider the model guidelines to regulate fees in private schools.