05 October,2020 07:46 AM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
The Thali Bajao poster
A few months ago, citizens across the country banged thalis to thank the COVID warriors on the appeal of the prime minister. Now, parents have decided to take up thalis, but to protest against the "unjustified" school fees amid the pandemic.
On October 10, parents will hold a thali-banging protest to make noise to wake up the authorities to their problems. They want the authorities to act against the private schools that are charging exorbitant fees at a time when almost everyone is facing a major financial crisis.
Parents complain that because of the absence of a proper grievance redressal system, their complaints have not been addressed ever, and they are under constant fear that their children might lose an academic year.
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Several complaints have come to the fore of students being removed from online classes for non-payment of fees or parents gathering at school demanding justice. Now Forum of Fairness in Education (FFE), an NGO that has been helping parents with the fee woes, has called for a country-wide protest at 7 am on October 10.
"The plan is to make a noise early in the morning, on a Saturday, to wake up the government to address this serious issue that has been ignored for long. The government is thinking of everyone's losses, even the toll plazas', during this difficult time. But doing nothing for the parents. Cases against unjustified school fees are going on in five-six high courts across India and most courts have ruled in favour of parents. Yet, the government has not issued a central directive in the matter," said FFE President Jayant Jain.
"So many schools are charging fees for school bus, canteen, lab, calendar and other stationery items - the services that are not being availed by students because of the online classes.
"Some schools are also charging miscellaneous fees and annual function fees. This is bizarre. And when parents started objecting to such fees, school managements put the entire amount under tuition fee," Jain added.
"It is unfortunate that the government is not worried about parents, who, too, have faced severe financial loss amid pandemic," he said, adding that FFE is also planning to take a legal course by filing a PIL if their thali-banging protest doesn't work.
Oct 10
Day the thali-bajao protest will be held
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