Kozhikode: School fees scare parents

KOZHIKODE: The parents seeking admission for their children in private and CBSE schools in the new academic year are facing a nightmare as the fees have skyrocketed compared to the previous years. In most cases, they have been doubled. In the absence of any official framework to regulate the fees, the parents are left to the mercy of  schools which have jacked up the fees and donations in the name of building funds.  The helpless parents have sought the intervention of the government in the matter.       

There are over  35 schools in the city limits here which can be divided into three categories based on their fee and donation structure. In the first,  the annual fees are over Rs 1 lakh and donation over Rs 4 lakh.  In  the second,  the fees are between  Rs 45,000 and Rs 75,000 and in the  third,  between Rs 25,000 and Rs 45,000 with donation of less than Rs 30,000.   Till the previous year, the fees were only half of that in the present academic year which from June. “Not all the parents would like to admit their kids in government or aided schools,”  opined Swarna Unnikrishna, who is running from pillar to post to source money for  her daughter’s admission.

“I can’t fight these irregularities in fee structure,   but we  can’t give our money blindly to the schools. The  management claims that we can afford the fee hikes as our salaries are increased every year.  But the increase does not match the 20 percent fee hikes made by the schools,” she said.   One of the prominent schools in the city  collects  Rs 5 lakh as donation, Rs 55,000 as fees,  Rs 10,000 for books and other expenses, Rs 2,000 as admission fee and Rs 5,000 for other minor expenses.  Every year,  there is a hike of 20 percent in the fees. Education expert M.A. Johnson said that the government should regulate  the fee structure in schools.  While they charge huge fees,  they do not provide high-quality education, he added.