Hyderabad: Members of the Hyderabad School Parents’ Associations (HSPA), which has been relentlessly fighting indiscriminate school fee hikes, met with deputy Chief Minister and education minister Kadiyam Srihari on Thursday to discuss the cancellation of a hearing that was supposed to take place on April 23.
The state government had issued an order stopping schools from increasing their fees. However, that order was stayed by the High Court. The Government subsequently filed a petition for the vacation of that stay order, and the HSPA filed an implead petition. The case was supposed to be heard on April 23, but the hearing did not take place due to changes in the bench of judges.
The education minister expressed that the government was helpless before a court of law. He assured them that he would do everything in his capacity to have the case heard. He said that he would call for another meeting with them in a week.
Seema Agarwal, a member of the HSPA, said, “When we asked why the government couldn’t request a priority hearing of the case, he said that the hearings were not being conducted at the desired pace, and there was not much the government could do about it, even though schools had been found making huge profits.”
She said the state had cancelled the NOCs issued to schools such as Glendale, Oakridge, and Chirec, which were charged with profiteering. But the schools had those orders stayed as well.
