No more free education in CBSE schools of civic body

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) has decided to charge Rs 1,000 per month towards fees from students studying in its CBSE schools.
The decision has evoked sharp reactions from a section of parents who have demanded resumption of free education in schools run by the civic body.
Asif Mansab Khan, a parent, said, “It is a flawed decision of the civic administration.Almost all parents who enrol their kids in the CSMC-run schools are poor. They cannot pay Rs 12,000 per year towards fees for their wards.” Yogesh Junagade, another parent, said past municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey had started CBSE schools with a vision, but the present authorities are diluting his vision. “Parents had no clue that Rs 1,000 per month would be charged towards fees for their wards. It is an arbitrary decision which needs to be rolled back,” he said.
As per data, CSMC has around 73 schools of which six are under the CBSE board. Against the intake capacity of 180 seats, these schools have witnessed over 800 applications this year. Sanjeev Sonar, a principal of a CBSE school in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said the fees are charged towards hiring additional teachers. “We had earlier deputed top teachers from Marathi/ Urdu medium schools to CBSE schools. This was affecting Marathi and Urdu medium schools. Therefore, we are hiring an aditional 29 teachers whose salaries would be paid from the fees charged from students,” he said.