SANGHAR, Aug 22: Hundreds of college and school students and their parents staged a rally here on Thursday against the increase in the boards and universities fees.

The protestors gathered in front of the offices of the EDO, education, and DO, colleges, and later staged a sit-in outside the local press club after marching about two kilometres.

Hosh Muhammad Mangi, Mir Hassan Mari, Khan Mohammad Nizamani and many others spoke on the occasion.

They said that the boards of intermediate and secondary education and universities of Sindh had increased the fees of challan forms, marks sheets, certificate, examination forms, re-totalling and admission by 100 to 20 per cent while the colleges were charging more than Rs1200 as admission fees.

They said that poorest of the poor students went to government colleges and schools and these steps were equal to depriving them of their right to education.

They pointed out that the poor people were unable to arrange a meal a day for their families and asked how could they spend more money to educate his children.

They cited the example of a poor girl of Aachar Jhullan village near Shahpur Chakar, Rehana Jhullan, who committed suicide when her parents were not able to pay for her admission fees to college. She had passed her matriculation in “A” grade and used to teach Quran to village children.

“If this had happened in a civilized country, its education ministry would have been shaken but here our education minister even did not know about the incident”, they deplored.

According to speakers, governments announced billions of rupees for education every year but the benefit did not reach the poor. They added: “This is why thousands of brilliant poor students discontinue their studies and several of them became so dejected that they commit suicide.”

They demanded abolition of the PTA fee and enrolment fee of the boards.

They also demanded that the undertaking from parents should be taken by principal to save the fee of oath commissioners.

The speakers noted that the PTA funds were not utilized properly by principals and clerks in the colleges. They said that students welfare fund had become “principals and clerks welfare fund” and caution money was never returned to students.