Akurdi: New Pune Public School demands unjustifiable fees from parents

Akash Dhanurkar

COVID19 pandemic has hit the world hard from all the dimensions, especially it has churned life out of middle class families. When the financial conditions of the people are worsening, the schools are no where relaxing the fees. The schools have been conducted online since past 8 – 9 months due to lockdown, which in itself has resulted in less productivity.

However, considering the less productivity and meager costing to the school to run the online education, the parents’ association of ‘New Pune Public School’ NPPS in Akurdi has been demanding reduction in the fees, as many parents have either faced salary cut or suffered a job loss, due to which it has become tough to manage the regular fees that was taken by the school before lockdown.

Sayali Kedari, a member of ECPTA (Executive committee of parents and teachers Association), explained her situation. She said, “We are not saying that the schools must not take the last year’s fees. They should, and infact they are taking, but what I demand on behalf of all the struggling parents is that the schools, too, must understand that there is a sense of sudden financial instability among the parents. It is getting tougher to manage the regular school fees that was also being taken before lockdown.”

The association has also demanded that asking fees through school teachers is unlawful and unethical. For the past four months, the association have held a meeting with the school administration, but no proper solution has been chalked out so far.

Upon speaking with Advocate Umesh Sathe, whose ward is a student of the school, said, “The school admin does not entertain our problems. They pressurise the students through teachers to pay the fees. It is a torture. How can they bother the students to pay the fees when we are available to receive their calls? So, we demand balance sheet of their entire spending.”

The school authority haven’t replied to the repeated calls by the Pune Pulse. A group of parents led by Advocate Sathe and Sayali Kedari, went to meet the Principal, but no authority from school have showed up.