Guardians and students of Jewish Girls’ School, on Park Street, blocked the road on Monday morning to protest an “exorbitant” hike in fees.

Police persuaded the guardians to lift the blockade after half an hour. Traffic was severely disrupted.

Last month, another private English-medium school, Pratt Memorial, had to roll back a fee hike under pressure from guardians.

The guardians of Jewish Girls, affiliated to the ICSE board, started their agitation on Friday after the school authorities refused to reconsider the fee hike.

On Monday morning, the authorities put up a notice stating that the school had been shut down for an indefinite period because of unruly behaviour of a section of guardians. This prompted the demonstration.

According to the guardians, the fees were increased without consulting them. The tuition fee has gone up from Rs 630 per month to Rs 730. The annual charge has been increased from Rs 2,400 to Rs 4,000. The laboratory fee has been raised from Rs 1,200 per year to Rs 2,000.

Till last session, only students of Class XII were required to pay the laboratory fee. From this year, the fee will have to be paid by the students of classes IX to XII, said the guardians.

Sheik Alauddin, the general secretary of the guardians’ forum of the school, said: “The fees have been raised exorbitantly. Last week, we had placed our demand for a downward revision in a peaceful manner. We were stunned to find out today that the school authorities have accused us of behaving in an unruly manner.”

Deputy commissioner (headquarters) Vineet Goyal said: “The blockade was withdrawn around 8.30am. We have requested the guardians and the school authorities to settle the matter amicably.”

The authorities of Jewish Girls School were not available for comment.