Mumbai : Parents of 10 private and public schools in the city are planning to take action against the hikes proposed in tuition fees and additional fees demanded by the schools, according to Jayant Jain, president of the Forum for Fairness in Education.

The schools include Universal High School, Dahisar; Thakur International School; Lokhandwala Foundation School; IES Orion School; Omkar Cambridge International School; and Vibgyor High.

For the past month, the parents have been complaining of the proposed exorbitant hike in fees. Earlier this week, Education Minister Vinod Tawde promised government action against irregular hikes in fees at a meeting with parents.

An aggrieved parent said, “When my son was admitted to nursery school at Lokhandwala Foundation School, we paid a security deposit fee of ?10,000 and ?12,000 as admission fee. Now, when he is ready to enter Class I, the school has asked us again for ?25,000 as admission fee and ?30,000 as security deposit, in addition to a 10% hike in fees. We object to two things: limited time for making the payment, and charging readmission fees for children who have been studying at the schools for the past three years.”

As the deadline for payment looms, Mr. Jain says the forum plans to organise protests and strikes. While a few parents have paid the fees, others are awaiting action that will result in rolling back the proposed hike in fees. “We have paid the fees according to last academic year’s fee structure, which was without the hikes. But they have now returned our cheques. We have been asked to pay the new fees within four or five days or else our children’s admission will be in jeopardy,” said a parent at Universal High School, Dahisar.

“Every year, the fee amount goes up by 10% to 12% and then additional fees are also levied. This is not justified,” she said.