DEO issues notice to Niraj Public , Sancta Maria International school for hiking fee

Hyderabad: The district education officers of Rangareddy and Hyderabad pulled up two schools - Sancta Maria International School, Gachibowli, and Niraj Public School, Jubilee Hills - on 9 July and issued show-cause notices for hiking the fees.

The Telangana government has directed schools not to hike any kind of fee during the academic year 2020-21 and asked them to collect only school fees on a monthly basis.

“Earlier this month, parents and students had protested against Niraj Public School, stating that it had not followed any guidelines set by the education department and was conducting online classes to collect tuition fees from the parents. The government order clearly states that no school in the state should collect any extra fees apart from the tuition fee for the academic year 2020-21," said one of the parents.

The district education officer, B.Venkata Narasamma, told Newsmeter, “We have issued a show-cause notice and asked the school to reply within three days, failing which strict action will be taken against the school.”

Another parent, Srinaivas Rao, said, “We were under the impression that the school will collect fees when the academic year 2020-21 starts and it reopens. To our surprise and disappointment, it started collecting fees from March. When a few parents protested against this move and notified the principal, the parents received a response from the principal on 18 June." It stated that the school will collect extra fees like cultural activities fees, lab fees, etc., for the months when it was closed. "This means they will collect the fees for the rest of the academic year. This has put several parents under pressure during the pandemic,” Mr. Rao added.

Many parents said they failed to understand why students of all classes are required to write online exams. Parents are already grappling with many problems during the COVID-19 crisis and this has only added to their woes.