Corporate education: Parents dread steep hike in fees

Rangareddy: The schools have re-opened recently after summer vacation as fears of COVID-19 eased in the State. This is for the first time in two years that schools resumed on schedule after the summer break. But the parents of students those studying in several prominent corporate schools in Rangareddy district are scared as the corporate schools have hiked tuition fees by 30-50 per cent.

According to the rules, no school can hike fees and charge only tuition fees. But a few prominent schools have collected 100 per cent of the fee but showed the board that only 40% of the fees was collected as tuition fee. The government directed schools against increasing fees for the academic year 2021-22 and the schools were urged to collect only the monthly tuition fee. Non-compliance of the instructions would result in cancellation of school recognition.

According to the sources, there are over 1,500 corporate and private schools in combined Rangareddy district, but many students have withdrawn from schools because the schools did not follow government orders and kept on increasing fees even during lockdown.

The parents were forced to pay the full fees for class ten students in spite of the government asking them to collect only the examination fee. The parents allege that even a mid-range school is charging more than Rs 50,000- Rs 80,000 a year while a corporate school is charging more than Rs 1 lakh.

Though a cabinet sub committee was formed in 2017 to prevent private educational institutions from arbitrary collection of school fees, seems like no decision has been taken yet. The managements are not only collecting the fees, but they have also been forcing students to purchase textbooks and uniforms from them.

The parents alleged that school managements are more interested in collecting higher fee caring little for the comfort of the students. They said that in most of the schools the students are having issues with toilets, drinking water facility and school bus facility while few schools do not have play areas for the students. The parents alleged that the district education department office is rife with corruption and irregularities. They said that if the district education department functioned properly, the corporate and private schools would not hike the fees.