CPM Backs Protest On School Fee Exploitation

The CPI(M) today announced its support for the dharna (protest demonstration) scheduled to be held at Indira Park on the 25th of this month against the "rampant" fee hikes by private educational institutions.

The dharna is being held under the aegis of the All India National Raksha Sena Party, and aims to condemn the "rampant and unchecked fee exploitation" in private and corporate educational institutions, while safeguarding the rights of students and parents.

Leaders of the All India National Raksha Sena Party met CPI(M) leaders at the party's State office in Hyderabad to seek their support and invite them to join the struggle. CPI(M) State Secretary John Wesley extended the party's support to the dharna after the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Wesley said that private educational institutions were indiscriminately collecting lakhs of rupees - under the guise of admission fees, donations and re-admission charges - even before the academic year began, thereby rendering education inaccessible to common people.

He alleged that schools had also ceased to limit themselves to imparting education and had transformed into "shopping malls", coercing students to purchase various school-related supplies exclusively from the institutions.

"Despite the existence of the Right to Education Act, it has effectively become a dead letter. In the absence of a robust fee-regulation law, private managements are acting with impunity. Meanwhile, the government is merely stalling for time by constituting various committees, effectively siding with corporate interests," he said.

"To rein in these practices, the government must immediately enact a comprehensive fee-regulation law. Furthermore, every school must transparently disclose a detailed breakdown of all fees collected. The process for providing 25% free admissions, as mandated by the Right to Education Act, must be implemented rigorously. Recognition of schools that violate government regulations must be revoked immediately," he added.