Congress Demands BJP Take Back CBSE Fees Hike; Odisha Minister Says It Will ‘Hit’ Parents

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Accusing the BJP of targeting poor and the SC/ST students by increasing class 10 and 12 board examination fees, the Congress on Monday demanded that it take back the CBSE's decision.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said after according step-motherly treatment to Dalits and tribals, the BJP government is now targeting the young generation by raising the fees of board examinations. This is yet another attempt of the BJP government to tarnish BR Ambedkar's dream of "be educated, struggle".

"We demand that the BJP government take back the CBSE decision to raise exam fees, failing which it would be clear that this government does not want to fulfil Ambedkar's dream of "be educated, struggle" for the oppressed classes in the society," he said.

Odisha's School and Mass Education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said the hike in class 10 and 12 board examination fees by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will "hit" the parents.

The CBSE has increased the fees of Class 10 and 12 board examinations by up to Rs 1,150. "It is really a difficult situation for parents to meet the CBSE fee hike. The CBSE authorities should not have raised the examination fees at one go," Dash told reporters after the All India Parents Association's Odisha chapter member sought Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's intervention.

The minister said the state government will examine the matter. However, CBSE should not have raised the fee structure in this manner, he said. Earlier, the parents' association had strongly condemned the CBSE announcement to increase the fees of Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations.

"Apart from examination fee, the CBSE has also imposed a late fee of Rs 2,000 per candidate. It is illegal to impose late fee for poor and needy students," said parents' association or the Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangha in a statement.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday increased the fees of class 10 and class 12 board examinations by up to Rs 1,150, the first hike in the last five years. The fees for general category students for both Class 10 and 12 were doubled from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500 for five subjects.

The Congress leader also alleged that this government is targeting the Dalits and the tribals by ending the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan in the budget and claimed that the cases of atrocities under the BJP rule have risen across the country.