Thousands turn up for protest against school fee reduction

Thousands of teachers, non-teaching staff and private school management members marched from Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru railway station to Freedom Park on Tuesday to protest the Karnataka government’s recent order that schools can charge only 70% of tuition fees and not collect any other fees from parents for this academic year. The protest was called by the Karnataka Private School Managements, Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff Coordination Committee (KPMTCC), a collective of 11 associations of teachers and school management members. Many schools affiliated with the State, central and international boards had declared Tuesday a holiday so that their staff could participate in the protest. Schools have decided to compensate for the portions by conducting classes on Saturday.