Srinagar: Despite tall claims of the government about making the private schools accountable, the institutions continue to remain in news for wrong reasons.

Parents of wards studying in Delhi Public School, Baramulla are up in arms against the school administration who have been accused of fleecing the parents by forcing them to purchase uniform and text books from the school premises.

Besides, the parents said that the school management has announced an arbitrary fee hike in the school fee structure without seeking permission from the competent authorities.

Aghast with the indifferent attitude of the school management, the parents staged a protest in the school premises asking the school authorities to charge fee from students as per previous fee structure.

Interestingly, DPS Baramulla is affiliated with CBSE and has clear cut directions from them not sell books and stationary items from the school premises.

“But it is ironical that the school management continues to violate CBSE guidelines and are selling books and uniform from school premises,” a group of aggrieved parents said.

“They never consult parents association before finalising any decision related to students and their academics,” they said.

The parents said the academics in the school has taken a back seat while the school management has turned the institution into a money minting machine by charging whooping amount from parents as tuition fee, admission fee and other fee under various categories.

“The problem is that government has given them a free hand saying that these institutions are registered with CBSE. Government has never acted against these institutions,” they said.

The parents said the institution has not made its fee structure public and they never reveal the package paid to the teachers recruited in the school.

“We met the school management number of times and they always dodge us under the pretext one or the other reason,” they said.

The aggrieved parents said the school authorities have now sought time till December 07 to resolve the grievances of the parents.

“If our grievances were not addressed in the given period we will use other means to stage protest against the school,” the parents said.

It may be recalled that the school fee fixation committee has already turned the plea of the school management to hike the fee.

“But they have violated the norms and enhanced the school fee,” parents said.

Principal DPS Baramulla Sheikh Mohsin Iqbal was not available for his comments.

Guest