Parents of students expelled from Borivli school ready to pay fees

MUMBAI: Parents of the 25 students expelled by JBCN School in Borivli have said that they will pay the hiked fees provided they are charged late fee as per RTE rules and are not made to sign a bond.
However, they shall continue to protest against the hike.
The parents, who have been fighting against the fee hike and the alleged wrongful formation of Parent Teacher Association (PTA), said at a press conference on Friday that the bond which was signed by some parents takes away the right to express themselves freely.
“The bond states that the parent signing it is not under stress from the school; we have been under stress because of them for eight months,” said a parent. The bond doesn’t allow the parents to approach the media either.
The parents are also upset as the reason for leaving the school, according to the leaving certificates issued to the students, is ‘non payment of approved fees’.
“The child will not get admission to any school because of this. Why harm the child in this process?” said an aggrieved parent.
The school has returned the cheques of parents who have paid the fees as they are still protesting.
While the state rules allow schools to charge a late fee of Rs 1 each day, parents said JBCN was charging them Rs 100 for each day of delay.
The school announced a fee hike last year. The school management was unavailable for comment.