Members of Ranchi Abhivavak Manch at a meeting on Tuesday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Jan. 27: Setting up an organisation under the aegis of which they can protest against “exorbitant” school fees was just the first step. Parents of students studying in various private city schools are now ready to take their campaign to the next level — hitting the roads.

The parents, under the banner of Ranchi Abhivavak Manch that they floated on Sunday, have decided to visit bus stops near different schools from tomorrow morning and make guardians aware of the decision of private schools to increase fees from the next academic year.

State general secretary of Congress and active member of the manch Shailesh Sinha said the decision was taken after an hour-long meeting at Bihar Club. He said the bus terminuses were chosen as the venue to establish contacts with other guardians because most parents come to drop their children for school and take them home there.

Sinha said the parents would be asked to raise their voice against the school authorities for exploiting them financially by taking admission fees every year. “They will also be asked to seek priority in admission of their children in schools that are near their residences. It is wrong to charge admission fees every year from students who are studying in that particular school for years. Similarly, the school management should give preference to local candidates during admission,” Sinha said.

Rajesh Kumar, a parent and ward councillor of Ranchi Municipal Corporation who was present at the meeting, said the manch members would also collect opinions of the parents and prepare a memorandum that will be handed over to the deputy commissioner of Ranchi.

“The deputy commissioner is supposed to be the guardian of the district and hence, we will take him into confidence before taking any action against private schools,” Kumar said.

A parent from Harmu, Prabhakar, who was not present at the meeting, has welcomed the decision. “Time has come for us to teach a lesson to private schools that have turned educational institution into money-minting machines,” he said.

The parents took the protest path after more than 50 public schools in the city decided to hike fees by 40 per cent in the next academic session. The parents plan to stage demonstrations in the city and even call a bandh to protest the hike.