Rustomjee International School, Dahisar, took action over unpaid fees; parents had been protesting against a sudden fee hike
The Rustomjee International School, Dahisar, said the action has been taken in accordance with the law
The parents of close to 48 Std I students of Rustomjee International School, Dahisar, were in for a shock when the institution handed them over the school leaving certificates (SLC) of their wards after the result. Reason on each SLC states — 'unpaid fees'.
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Parents worried
The parents, who have been fighting against the fee hike by the school since last year, are now worried about their children's future as admission to a new school at this stage will be difficult.
The school sent the SLCs despite an order from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's education officer, asking the institution to not take any action until an enquiry into the fee hike is not over.
A group of parents had approached the BMC education officer after 18 of them received SLCs on April 5. The officer had asked the school to wait for the enquiry report. However, the school administration defied the order and sent SLCs to 30 more parents on Saturday. The school management said its action is in accordance with the Fee Regulation Act.
"It is not like we haven't paid the fees. Only the hiked amount is pending because of the enquiry. We kept waiting for the enquiry to end and did not pay the hike amount as there were orders that school cannot act until the enquiry is over. But the government officials are busy in election work and the school is taking advantage of the situation," said one parent.
The school gave the parents until April 24 to pay the remaining fee. "Scared, as new admission at this stage will be difficult, some parents went ahead and paid the fees. But they were made to sign a document stating that they will agree to all hikes in future and will not indulge in any kind of protest against the school," said another parent.
The school in April 2018 hiked the Std I fee by 38 per cent to R56,200 from R36,900. According to the norm before, there used to be a 10 per cent hike in fee every year. Moreover, failing to pay the fee on time, parents were charged R100 per month as late fee, which according to law is R1.
School principal says
School principal Chaya Rangnekar told mid-day, "The school is following the rules as laid down by the Maharashtra Education Institution (Regulation of Fee) Act 2011 and accordingly, had placed the fee proposals before the PTA Executive Committee. and the same was accepted by them. We, also, put on record that there has been no complaint in any manner from the PTA Executive Committee members to date. We wish to emphasise that except for a handful all the parents have willingly paid the fees."
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