GUWAHATI, July 17 - The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today directed the Secretary of State education department to take appropriate action on the complaint about private educational institutions in Guwahati pressurising parents for monthly fees during the lockdown.
Hearing a complaint on the matter lodged by human rights activist Monojit Singha, the Commission asked the State education department to take action on the issue within eight weeks and inform the complainant about the action taken.
In his complaint Singha had pointed out that many private educational institutions are forcing the parents to submit the monthly school fees, even during the lockdown, causing mental harassment to them.
In his complaint Singha said even as people are facing financial hardships due to the prolonged lockdown from March 2020, business activities have come to a halt and many people have even lost their jobs in the process. The private school authorities in Guwahati are continuously asking for monthly school fees by sending SMS and calling on the parents� mobile phones, he further alleged.
It needs mention that in April the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) had written to all the deputy commissioners of Assam to take strict action against the school managements pressurising parents to submit fees during the lockdown.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Singha said some schools were even asking for full bus fare, which is both illogical and immoral.
�There is no announcement regarding reopening of schools and it is not clear as to when the situation would be normal enough for the schools to reopen. In such circumstances, the parents are being wrongly pressurised to pay for the services which they have not availed for months. In the present circumstances, not every parent is financially secure enough to make such payments,� he added.
