19 August,2020 07:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
Some parents and political party members met the school trustee after their protest. Pic/Rajesh Gupta
The Gopal Sharma Memorial School in Powai, that had allegedly stopped the online education of more than 300 students over non-payment of fees, has agreed to restart it and will discuss concessions in fees later, after some parents and members of a political party protested outside it on Tuesday.
mid-day had reported on August 8 that the school was seeking fees including those for library, extra-curricular activities, etc. for the first quarter of the academic year. Parents had refused to pay for facilities the kids haven't used. The online classes were stopped for 350 students from Stds I to X from August 5. The parents claimed that this number increased to around 400 students since mid-day's report.
"From August 5 till now, we tried to have a word with the school principal and trustees about this issue, but they were reluctant. We were not demanding waiver of fees, but the cutting of components such as library fees and extra-curricular fees, as students don't have access to them. We even visited the school to meet the authorities, but there was no solution. So we called for a protest on the morning of August 18," said a parent.
After the call for protest was given, on August 14, Dr Gool Ghadiali, the principal, issued a circular to parents (a copy of it is with mid-day) telling them to pay fees for July and August.
School issues circular
The circular mentioned that it was difficult to manage school affairs without fees and no school in Powai had reduced fees. It also said protests were not appreciated, and will have a bad impact on students. The protests were called an act of misleading parents by some for personal motives.
On Tuesday morning, around 100 parents gathered at the school, followed by a morcha from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) members protesting against the school management for demanding full fees. A trustee of the school, Prashant Sharma, then met the parents and MNS leader Mahendra Bhanushali.
"Many parents narrated their ordeal. Some who had lost jobs told how they had managed to pay the fees till now and how they were struggling to pay the rest. One parent confessed to selling her gold ornaments to pay the fees. After an hour-long meeting, Sharma assured relaxations in fees. We had told the school we would escalate the protest if they don't take a decision, but the trustee has asked for 10 days," said Bhanushali.
After the meeting, parents received an official message from the school saying online classes would be started regularly from Wednesday.
School speak
"No private school in Powai or anywhere else to my knowledge has given fee concession. According to a High Court judgment and state government directives, unaided, private schools have been excluded from waiving off fees. We assured all the parents that we would consider their requests," said Prashant Sharma, the trustee.
400
No. of students barred from online classes
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