Mumbai:
Schools in the city are in a mad rush to hike fees. In the past few months, many private unaided schools have hiked their fees by 20% to 60% in the middle of the term. From paying teachers salaries to providing for 25% seats to the weaker sections of society under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, schools attribute fee hikes to increasing expenditure.
Yashodham School, Goregaon has increased fees by nearly 20%. The primary section fees have been hiked from Rs935 to Rs1,705 and the secondary section fee from Rs 1, 550 to Rs 1,800. "A Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting was held in August when an amount was agreed upon. But in November, the school hiked fees again," said a parent.
However, schools state that schools are hiking fees to retain staff. "Unless, we provide competitive salaries, good teachers go elsewhere. Anyway, there is a shortage of teachers; so we do everything we can to retain them," said a principal of a top school in Malad, who has hiked its fees by 50%.
Abha Pal, principal of Utpal Sanghvi school echoed her views. "It is justifiable to hike fees so long as it is the only revenue source for the school. We need money for recurring expenditure like staff salaries, gratuity, annual days, etc. We have to revise fees periodically," she said.
The school has hiked fees by 50% for international board and 35% for state board. Parents have complained that rising fees have burnt deep holes in their pockets. "My daughter's school is going to hike fees by 25%. Already, the existing annual fee for the school is Rs 40,000. It is unfair for the schools to hike fees in mid-term when we do not even have the option to change schools," said Dinaz Quereshi, a parent.
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