Protesting against the schools pressuring them to pay fee, parents in Indore on Sunday approached politicians urging them to resolve their issues. A group of 100 parents discussed their issues and submitted memorandum to Mayor Malini Gaud, MP Shankar Lalwani, MLA Ramesh Mendola, MLA Jitu Patwari, MLA Mahendra Hardia and MLA Sanjay Shukla.
The group of parents from Jagrut Palak Sang running ‘Jago Palak Jago’ campaign had approached politicians. Heading the Sang, Chanchal Gupta and Ramakant Sharma shared the details about parents’ issues and interaction with politicians.
Hit by COVID-19 lockdown, the parents mainly have five demands:
1. Form a committee to solve parents’ problems:
In absence of district education officer (DEO), there is no one in-charge to help parents and resolve issues with schools. Hence, parents urged politicians to intervene and form a permanent committee for resolving parents’ problems.
Further, parents demanded that the committee must be granted powers for quick actions on complaints.
2. Enforcement of Fee Regulation Act 2017:
Though the bill on fee regulation was passed and Fee Regulation Act 2017 was formed, parents claim that it is not enforced in the city. “Administration is unable to control schools and the fee charged, which is possible only by strict enforcement of Fee Regulation Act,” Gupta said.
3. Ensuring students are not denied online classes:
Despite orders from government and district administers, some schools continue to pressure parents on payment of fee by shutting down online classes and seeking fee even in event of transfer certificate (TC). “Administration need to strictly enforce that no school denies online classes,” Sharma said.
4. Control fee pressure from school
In most private schools, first semester examinations will be held online in the coming weeks. Warning students, schools are informing them that they will not be allowed to take the examination if fee is unpaid. “This type of undue pressure on students and parents is not justified, especially as the final decision on fee during pandemic is still pending,” Gupta said.
5. Pay fee from welfare fund:
With schools demanding fee and parents’ inability to pay the fee due financial constraints, they demanded politicians to pay their wards’ school fee from the Rs 185 lakh given to them for social welfare.
Parents also demanded that schools should not be reopened yet, even though guidelines have been given for reopening schools for classes 9th to 12th.
Mayor Malini Gaud and her son Eklavya Gaud did not meet parents, stating they were in self-quarantine. However, Gaud sent his personal assistant to collect the memorandum.
MP Shankar Lalwani gave assurance that the matter will be looked after. “We will form a committee for solving parents’ issues, which will be headed by SDM,” he said.
Congress media department head Jitu Patwari said, “The entire world is suffering due to coronavirus pandemic. More than a 1 lakh people in the country are diagnosed with corona every day. This is nature’s way of justice. Our Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been repeatedly approached to cut down fees as expenses are reduced for schools. I have written 4 letters to CM urging him to provide relief to parents. Schools should only be allowed to charge a minimum fee."
"I urge CM to ignore that I am from Congress. Let’s rise above this political conflict and help people. If parents do not receive the much-needed relief, then we will be left no other option to revolt against the government,” he said.