Amidst the growing tussle between the parents and schools over the fee hike, the education department of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has issued a circular prohibiting school management from “mentally harassing” students. The schools were reportedly withholding the marksheets, examination hall tickets, and scholarship applications of students who haven’t paid the fees. 

NMMC has about 455 schools under its jurisdiction, of which over 330 are private schools. On Saturday, it warned private schools of action after receiving repeated complaints about alleged “injustice” meted out to parents and students. The NMMC also mandated the schools to make the process of electing members for Parents Teachers Association-Executive Committee (PTA-EC)  transparent. It is to note that only the executive committee of a school’s PTA has the right to challenge fee hikes by the school.