Hyderabad parents stage protest demanding reduction of school fees

The Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) on Saturday staged a demonstration in protest against schools charging the entire fees and not just the tuition fees as the state government had ordered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protesting parents said that the schools had made a mockery of the government's orders and demanded that schools should not charge more than 50 per cent of the total fee.

Speaking to , Riya, a parent, said, "Despite the government passing orders stating that schools in Telangana must only charge the tuition fee, schools have been ignoring the order and charging the entire fees."

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the livelihoods of several people have been adversely affected, with many finding it difficult to pay school fees for their children.

Classes are now conducted online instead of in the classroom and many parents say that it is unfair to charge the whole school fees, especially since classrooms and other services in the school are not being utilised.

"This year hasn't been a normal year for many of us with pandemic leading to loss of jobs and untimely disbursement of salary. Everyone must be compassionate about the situation but schools have been demanding for the complete school fees, even while our children are studying from homes and there are no other activities in school apart from online classes."

Other parents said that it was important for the government to intervene so that in the coming years, the increase in school fees could be regulated.

"It is our sincere request to the government to come and save us, parents, from the loot of these schools. We not only want a 50 per cent fee reduction, but the government should also make sure that the schools don't just increase fees whenever they want. We pay over Rs 2 lakhs per year for primary school fees. If we spend so much on the education of our children now, we won't have anything left for their higher studies," Sanjay, a parent and HSPA member said.

( With inputs from ANI )