Parents protest at Jantar Mantar over private school fee hikes, seek reforms
Parents said their repeated appeals to authorities had gone unanswered, compelling them to take to the streets once again, a statement from UPV (a parent group) said.
New Delhi, Jul 19 (PTI) Hundreds of parents assembled at the Jantar Mantar here on Saturday under the banner of United Parents' Voice (UPV), protesting against alleged arbitrary fee hikes, demanding greater financial transparency and accountability in the private education sector.
While a small delegation was granted a brief meeting and assured of further dialogue, they said no follow-up communication was received despite formal reminders, it added.
Parents submitted a detailed memorandum addressed to the lieutenant governor, chief minister and education minister, reiterating concerns over unapproved fee hikes, alleged misuse of school funds and violations of student rights.
They also expressed their opposition to the recently passed Fee Regulation Ordinance, 2025, which they claimed was enacted without adequate public consultation.
The memorandum called for a rollback of unratified fee increases, independent audits by the comptroller and auditor general and forensic experts and government-supervised elections for parent-teacher associations to ensure more inclusive school governance, the statement said.
It also urged authorities to act against schools that allegedly shame or penalise students over fee issues, a practice parents said violates the right to education under Article 21A of the Constitution.
The protesting parents further demanded that schools be mandated to follow a monthly fee collection system, citing the financial strain caused by advance lump-sum payments.
They also advocated for infrastructure procurement through the government e-marketplace (GeM) portal to ensure cost-effective and transparent spending.
According to the statement, another key demand was the public disclosure of fee structures approved by the Directorate of Education on both government and school websites.
Rahul Gupta, a parent and member of UPV said the protest was an outcome of continued silence from the administration.
'We have tried all channels, emails, meetings, even written representations to the highest offices. Today's gathering is a collective call for fairness and dignity in our children's education,' he said.
The group said that their concerns had also been communicated earlier through email and speed post to the president, prime minister, and union home minister, seeking urgent intervention.
UPV reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful civic action and appealed to the government to initiate an open dialogue with parents. PTI SHB OZ OZ
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
3 minutes ago
- Mint
NDA authorises PM Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda to pick V-P candidate ahead of 9 September polls
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda to pick the alliance's Vice President candidate. The decision was taken during the NDA leaders meeting held in the state capital on Thursday, news agencies reported. Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of India issued a notification for the 9 September election to the vice president's post, kickstarting the nomination process. With the Election Commissionnotification, nominations for vice presidential elections begin. The date for filing nominations is 21 August. The nominations will be scrutinised on 22 August, and the last date for withdrawing nominations will be 25 August, as per the schedule issued by the Election Commission. The notification by the Election Commission comes after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice President on 21 July, opening the contest for his successor. Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022, and his tenure was till 2027. As per Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice President of India is elected by an Electoral College comprising the elected members of the Rajya Sabha, the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, and the elected members of the Lok Sabha. According to Articles 63 to 71 of the Constitution and the Vice President (Election) Rules, 1974, the Election Commission had to hold a formal election within 60 days of Dhankhar's resignation and before 19 September 2025. The electorate or the electoral college comprises all members of both Houses of Parliament—elected and nominated—using a proportional representation system via a single transferable vote. The MPs will cast a single transferable vote with a secret ballot. The electoral college currently has 788 MPs, 588 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha. The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA) has a majority in the electorate, which includes the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Both the NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc are expected to nominate candidates.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
8 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'Elections are choreographed': Rahul Gandhi's big claim against EC, BJP
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the Election Commission is working with the BJP to manipulate election results. Presenting data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, Gandhi claimed that "vote chori" (vote theft) had taken place on a large scale, calling it a "crime against the Constitution". During a media address at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said the Congress had set up a team to investigate suspected irregularities and gathered 'concrete evidence of vote chori' over six months. He demanded access to machine-readable voter data from the past 10-15 years and CCTV footage from polling stations. "If the EC does not give us machine-readable data for the past 10-15 years and the CCTV footage, they are partaking in the crime," Rahul Gandhi said. Focus on Mahadevapura: Allegations of 100,000 fake votes Rahul Gandhi presented an analysis of voter data from the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency, particularly the Mahadevapura Assembly segment. According to Gandhi, in the Lok Sabha constituency of Bangalore Central, the Congress polled 626,208 votes while BJP got 658,915 votes — a winning margin of 32,707 for the BJP. Despite Congress winning six out of seven Assembly segments in the constituency, Gandhi further pointed to a massive lead of over 114,000 votes for the BJP in Mahadevapura. This, he claimed, turned the seat in BJP's favour. 'Elections are being choreographed': Rahul Gandhi The Congress MP described the entire electoral process as being "staged". "Elections are choreographed... Our internal polling told us we would win 16 seats in Karnataka; we won nine," he said. The Congress focused on seven unexpected losses and zeroed in on Mahadevapura for a detailed analysis, he said. "We found 100,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, there is no record of those people living there. One family living in that house," he added. Rahul Gandhi pointed to invalid photos and misuse of Form 6, which allows new voter registration, as methods used for vote tampering. He alleged that 100,250 votes were fraudulent, citing: • 11,965 duplicate voters • 40,009 voters with fake or invalid addresses • 10,452 bulk voters listed under single addresses • 4,132 voters with invalid photos • 33,692 voters registered using misused Form 6 for new voter applications Concerns over polling schedule and voter turnout Rahul Gandhi raised concerns about how elections are now held in multiple phases, unlike earlier when they were completed in a single day. "There was a time in India with no EVMs; people voted on one day. Now, UP has a different voting day, and Bihar has some other day. Voting goes on for a month. This made us suspicious," he said. He also flagged sudden changes in polling dates for Karnataka and Haryana as suspicious. Referring to the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Gandhi said the number of voters added to the rolls in five months exceeded those added in the last five years. "In Maharashtra and Haryana, we saw it right in front of our faces. We said publicly and told EC, more voters were added in five months than in five years in Maharashtra. More voters than the entire population of Maharashtra. Huge jump in voter turnout after 5 pm," he alleged. The Congress MP claimed there was a discrepancy between Lok Sabha and Assembly results, with 10 million new voters added at the state level, which altered the outcome. (With agency inputs)
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Two FIRs filed after mob assault on YouTubers near Karnataka's Dharmasthala amid SIT probe
Tension flared near Dharmasthala in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday evening after a group of YouTubers was allegedly attacked by a mob. The incident, linked to the ongoing SIT investigation into a purported mass burial case, led to clashes between two groups, prompting police to step in and restore order. According to officials, two separate FIRs have been registered in connection with the events that unfolded in Dharmasthala. (PTI/File) Also Read - Siddaramaiah slams Trump's tariffs, accuses PM Modi of 'headline management' over national interest According to officials, two separate FIRs have been registered in connection with the events that unfolded. The first FIR pertains to the alleged physical assault on four individuals from three YouTube channels, including a cameraman, who were reportedly interviewing a local person when the mob targeted them. This complaint also includes the vandalism of two vehicles used by the content creators and an attack on a reporter from a private TV channel. The second FIR concerns incidents of unlawful assembly reported at three locations: Pangala near Dharmasthala (where police had to resort to a lathi charge), the Dharmasthala police station premises, and outside a local hospital. These disturbances took place as tensions escalated following the initial attack. Also Read - How Bengaluru prison inmates are using WhatsApp to run extortion racket Preliminary reports from doctors treating those injured suggest that none of the victims suffered serious injuries, police said. Medical staff have conveyed these findings verbally, pending full reports. Authorities confirmed that video evidence from the incident is being scrutinised, and appropriate legal action will be taken based on the findings. Police have stated that the situation has since been brought under control. (With PTI inputs)
