Bhopal: No hike in school fees, demand parents after minister’s announcement

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After the announcement by the state higher education minister that tuition fee would not be increased in government and private colleges in the state, the parents of school-going children have pressed for the same.

“Higher education minister Mohan Yadav announced that tuition fees of all colleges including government and private will not be increased in the 2022-23 academic session. This is done in view of COVID pandemic induced conditions,” said state convener of Madhya Pradesh Palak Mahasangh, Prabodh Pandya.

When the department of higher education can think so empathically, why can't the same be done by the department of school education, Pandya added.

The parents of the school-going children said that they had opposed fee hikes by private schools and had also approached court for reprieve, which came from the High Court.

“The Minister for Higher Education has taken the decision in view of Covid pandemic citing that all segments were badly hit by the pandemic. This applies to parents of school-going children as well,” said Anupam Mishra, father of two school-going children.

“Our delegation had met the school education minister and had also sought appointment from the chief minister to raise the issue but to no avail,” said Swati Raikwar, mother of two children. “Our business was severely hit during the pandemic. Though the government announced several measures for relief, it didn’t reach us. If we get relief in the form of a rebate in school fees, it will help us a lot,” she added.

District education officer Nitin Saxena said that the decision in this matter had been taken by the government following High Court’s orders. Now, nothing is left with local administration, he added.