School transportation fee: Parents resent ‘arbitrary’ hike

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Srinagar, Mar 7: Parents have resented the ‘arbitrary’ hike in school transportation fee by the ‘Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir’.
PSAJK recently said that after a meeting to overcome the transportation ‘crisis’ it has issued a rate card wherein Rs 1950 will be charged for 0-5 km distance, Rs 2450 for 5-10 km, and Rs 45 for every additional kilometre.
Following the rules of PSAJK, private schools have increased the transportation fee by 50%. Parents are protesting on daily basis outside various private schools. A group of protesting parents told news agency Kashmir News Trust that they support the decision of Fee Fixation Committee to charge transportation fee separately and keep it aloof from academic fee, but the PSAJK in the garb of Fee Fixation Committee order wants to ‘loot’ the parents.
“The arbitrary decision of PSAJK has left parents high and dry. There should be a reasonable transportation fee which parents can afford. Giving illogical reasons for the transportation hike, PSAJK is not only misleading the administration but gullible parents too,” they said.
The protesting parents said that on the one hand PSAJK admits that people have suffered economically and on the other hand it has resorted to unreasonable hike.
One of the angry parents said that PSAJK represents private schools and not the parents. “PSAJK pleads and advocates the cause of private schools. It doesn’t work in the interest of parents,” he said.
Pertinently, PSAJK has said that in the current situation when everyone is facing a financial crunch the working of transportation at previous rates is impossible. “The price of diesel and petrol has increased by a big margin during the last three years.”
PSAJK has maintained that a large number of parents have already said that they cannot afford such charges due to the economic situation and PSAJK understands it fully. The Association said that if everybody tries to stick to their hardstand, no progress can be achieved. (KNT)