Schools stifling parents with skyrocketing fees!

New Year may bring lot of cheers to everyone, but for parents it will be tensions once again as end of December signals start of the new academic year soon. Those who are looking for admissions in schools or looking for change of schools,will be spending sleepless nights as rather than getting admission which their children with little bit of intelligence and training are bound to get, skyrocketing prices are a matter of concern.

Even though Govt bought in many regulations to rein in private schools from increasing the fees and collecting donations/capitation/development fund in any form, management find some or the other loopholes in the laws to flout rules and squeeze parents of their hard earned income, without providing even basic facilities.This led to parents stage protests infront of schools which forced Govt to call private school managements for a meeting. But with politicians and school managements colluding with eachother, parents got little relief. Even the schools which are derecognised will start functioning normally with the passage of time.

Schools with average ratings in Hyderabad have fees around 2000-3000 Rs and for poor and middle class it will be a huge burden. Though many Chief Ministers right from late YS.Rajasekhar Reddy, Rosaiah and even Kiran Kumar Reddy tried to reign in the nexus between politicians, private school management and Govt officials, no headway is made. Sometime back a committee of Parents was constituted and they took a representation to Hyderabad Collector. The collector convened a meeting of the management’s representatives and issued instruction to display on school / college notice boards the details of fees. No school / colleges has so far complied with his instructions. Govt. had issued G.O. Ms. No 91 on 6th August 2009 to regulate the structure in private schools / colleges. Which was challenged in High Court.

A division bench of A.P. High Court comprising Justice Naushad Ali & Justice G. Raghauram said that judgement that Govt is fully empowered to regulate the fee structure and this authority cannot be challenged by anyone. Despite this judgement, state administration has failed to regulate fees structure in schools and colleges.With each passing year schools are hiking fees by around 20-40% and if it is a fresh admission, then one should be ready to cough up hefty amounts towards building fee, library fee — all euphemism for donations and capitation fee. Transportation charges have also registered a rise with auto drivers demanding an extra Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 per child. In some schools the transportation charges for ten months work out to half of the annual fee.

Here is the fees structure of some of the prominent schools in Hyderabad.