MUMBAI, June 15: Irate parents of students of the Manjunath Vidyalaya (English Medium), Dombivli (E) took to the streets today to protest the school management's decision to enforce a unilateral fee hike. The dharna disrupted the busy traffic on the Kalyan-Dombivli road as parents squatted on the road.The management has closed the school which has 2,646 students ostensibly due to a strike notice issued by the teachers, but parents alleged the strike is being trotted up as an excuse: the real reason for closure is their refusal to concede the school's demand.An office-bearer of the parents' association, Vijay Nair, said: ``The management had hiked the fees from Rs 75 to Rs 100 in February '95, and as per rules, it can't hike fees again for three years.''He informed that the decision to hike fees (from Rs 100 to Rs 225 for the secondary section and Rs 100 to Rs 120 for the primary) was made as early as June 1997. ``But we were kept in the dark till February 1998,'' he said. The school then askedparents to pay fees from June 1997 onwards, according to the revised rates which parents have opposed.The school, on its part, insists it has done nothing wrong. ``We have written permission from the Directorate of Education to proceed with the fee hike,'' claimed chairman of the school's managing committee, S M Shetty.Parents who weren't convinced by the claim had a series of meetings with the school management, but these could achieve little despite mediation by local politicians. When the school re-opened on June 13, the demand for fees was renewed. Moreover, a prominently displayed board today sends a terse warning to all SSC students that in case of non-payment of ``pending'' fees, the school won't issue leaving certificates. Interestingly, the teachers also began issuing threats of striking work around the same time that the management's meetings with parents failed, parents pointed out.The teachers who struck work from today are demanding they be paid salaries in keeping with the prescribedgovernment pay scales. On June 13, students were given a note which said, ``Due to a strike notice given by teachers, the classes will remain suspended until further notice.'' Parents allege the teachers' strike is a ploy by the management to pressure them into paying up, though members of the managing committee deny this stoutly.What lent credence to the parents' allegation was the teachers' presence inside the school today, though they were on strike. Enraged parents insisted the teachers be asked either to leave the premises or teach. Sensing their foul mood, the teachers were asked by the management to leave.But the chairman of Karnataka Sangha, Dombivli, which runs the school, Dr C J Jahagirdar, linked the raise in pay demanded by teachers with the fee hike and rationalised: ``Ours is a non-aided school. The tuition fees from students provide for the teachers' salaries.'' According to him, the parents are responsible for the situation. Some of the teachers, however, agree the parents are right.``We have to do as the management says or face problems later,'' said a senior teacher, adding, ``Most of us were reluctant to be part of this tamasha.'' The heavy downpour only made matters worse for teachers, who were waiting on the verandahs of shops in a nearby lane today. Meanwhile, the parents have filed a writ in the High Court.
