Mr. Rouf-ur-Rehman, the Joint Director of Education for Kashmir, invited the complainants and the school administration to a meeting on Thursday late in the afternoon after becoming aware of a number of complaints against the Tyndale Biscoe School.
According to sources, there was a brief conversation during which both sides (parents and school officials) expressed their opinions on the yearly price increase.
Parents claimed during the meeting that the Tyndale Biscoe School, along with all other schools, were in violation of the directive of the Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee, which had been issued by the committee’s former chairman, retired Justice Muzafar Hussain Attar. Parents claimed that Biscoe School overcharges and violates a previous directive given by the Fee and Fixation Committee’s previous chairman.
The Tyndale Biscoe school administration said that they could not operate the school on such tiny amount, and the case is still pending, according to sources who spoke to the news agency Kashmir News Trust. Parents had asked that 14% be added to the yearly price set in 2019 nevertheless.
Parents also reported that the cost of transportation varies from school to school and is determined at each institution’s discretion, even though the cap is set at Rs 2,000.
A few parents asked Joint Director Education to collect all the monies Tyndale Biscoe School had overcharged for the previous two years. Joint Director Education assertively responded that he had no authority to do so.
However, the Joint Director of Education pleaded with the Biscoe School administration to show patience when collecting money from pupils, parents, and guardians. He warned the school administration, “Nothing will change if you collect the tuition from parents 10 days late.
Rouf-ur-Rehman, the Joint Director of Education, also instructed Biscoe School officials not to unilaterally raise tuition and to consult with parents before making any decisions. Additionally, he recommended that parent-teacher conferences and parent grievance camps be held at Biscoe schools on the final Friday or Saturday of each month.
According to other sources, parents are considering seeing Mr. Sunil Hali, chairman of the fee and fixation committee, on the 17th of this month. A complaint concerning a fee increase made by parents against “Iqbal Memorial Institute” is being heard by the Committee on 17th.
“We ought to use this chance and inform the Fee Fixation Committee of this serious issue on that day. In order to stop schools from arbitrarily raising fees, we want other parents to stop by the Fee Fixation Committee office on April 17th.
Notably, Tyndale Biscoe School is receiving several complaints for raising the yearly tuition without getting permission from the appropriate authority.
A human rights organization has also filed a complaint with the Directorate of School Education against the Biscoe School Srinagar, requesting that it take action against the school in question and forbid it from organizing a camp in any high station given the unpredictable weather.
The Tyndale Biscoe School administration increased the annual fees of their enrolled students arbitrarily from 3800 to 6000, which has further added woes for parents who are already struggling financially for a variety of reasons, according to the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Forum, a group working for the promotion and protection of human rights.
According to the complaint, the school management also ordered the kids to put down Rs. 3500 as a deposit for yearly camping in any hill location.
“Your good self is kindly requested to intervene in the matter as parents have experience with such Schools who, for one reason or another, have left the poor parents in a difficult situation.”
According to the complaint, according to the news source Kashmir News Trust, the school administration should be told to postpone the camping trip to any hill station till further instructions.
The Forum had hoped that the Directorate of School Education will move quickly to resolve the issue and save the impoverished parents more suffering.
When contacted, Joint Director of Education Rouf-ur-Rehman acknowledged that the topic of the price increase had been discussed. He emphasized that the ultimate decision on the matter must come from the Fee Fixation Committee.
