It was but a matter of time before the issue of school fee hikes also went political, and with Congress' Sanjay Nirupam taking on the baton, it has found a new home
Sanjay Nirupam joined the protest with students and parents against fee hike at Azad Maidan on Sunday.Pic/Bipin Kokate
It was but a matter of time before the issue of school fee hikes also went political, and with Congress' Sanjay Nirupam taking on the baton, it has found a new home — the opposition. When hundreds of parents from across Mumbai gathered at Azad Maidan on Sunday to protest the exorbitant and rampant fee hikes in private schools, Nirupam joined in on stage to support the parents.
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Burning issues
To protest hikes, over 200 parents from 42 private schools have banded together under the leadership of Forum for Fairness in Education (FFE) to participate in the movement called Say No to Fee Hike that questions the government's apathy in implementing the Fee Regulation Act.
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President of FFE, Jayant Jain, said, "This is a burning issue. Several parents are suffering. Many do not come out and speak against school management because then schools start harassing their children. All this has to stop. Nobody is saying no to a hike, but it has to be justified. Schools can make profit with moderate fee-hikes. Forget Fee Regulation Act, the Capitation Fee Act, in existence for over three decades, lies toothless as schools continue to make it compulsory for parents to buy stationary items and uniforms from the school at a much higher rate than the market."
Political bent necessary?
Meanwhile, though Nirupam attempted to politicise the issue by taking credit for the passage of the Act, he added an addendum. "We are going beyond politics here. This is a public issue. Private schools are exploiting parents. But we will keep demanding justice for parents," said Nirupam.
Also read - Mumbai: Parents plan to strengthen protest against school fee hike
Soon after him, MLA Bacchu Kadu came to meet the parents, followed by a representative from Shiv Sena's Yuva Sena, who insisted that Aditya Thackeray supported to parents. However, parents were wary of the political interference, afraid it will take away focus from their issue.
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