Parents Storm Andhra Association English School in Kadma over Fee Hike

Jamshedpur Parents Protest Arbitrary Re-Admission Charges, Demand Administration Action

Key Points:

• Parents uproar at Kadma’s Andhra Association English School over re-admission fee hike
• School staff flee premises as angry parents raise slogans against management
• Administration intervention demanded as school ignores district fee-control orders

JAMSHEDPUR – A large number of parents stormed the premises of Andhra Association English School in Kadma, Jamshedpur, on Saturday, protesting a steep and arbitrary hike in re-admission fees that they said was imposing a severe financial burden on families.

The agitated parents alleged that the school management had been collecting excessively high charges in the name of re-admission. Moreover, they said, this was being done in a completely arbitrary manner. The protest turned increasingly heated as parents raised slogans against the school management. Several school staff members left the premises as the situation deteriorated.

Parents pointed out that the district administration had already issued strict directives on fee control in private schools. However, the school management was openly flouting those orders. They demanded that the administration intervene without delay to rein in the management.

In contrast, the school management did not issue any official response to the allegations. No statement was made by any school authority during or after the protest. The parents warned that if the fee hike was not rolled back, their agitation would be intensified in the days ahead.

The incident is the latest in a series of complaints against private school fee violations in East Singhbhum district. The Jharkhand Education Department had earlier issued instructions to form committees at the district and school level to keep a check on arbitrary fee hikes. The district administration had also warned private school managements against raising fees without due process.

Meanwhile, demands for prompt administrative intervention grew louder following the Saturday uproar. Parents said they had been left with no choice but to take to the streets after their grievances went unaddressed. A reliable source said the school had been raising fees every year without following the prescribed procedure.

The deputy commissioner’s warning to private schools on fee hikes had come just days before the protest. Despite that, the Andhra Association English School management did not appear to have taken cognisance of the directive. Calls for an inquiry into the school’s fee collection practices have been growing since the protest. The parents’ protest movement in the city over school fee issues has been gathering steam over the past several days.