Hyderabad: The Hyderabad School Parents Associations (HSPA) has demanded that the party that forms government after the elections should pass an ordinance to stop school fee hikes for the next academic year. The demand was made at a round table conference held with members of political parties, academics and intellectuals in attendance here on Saturday. The association secured assurances from political leaders at the conference to include fee regulation in their manifestoes.
Telangana Jana Samithi chief Prof. Kodandaram said, “The lack of quality English medium schools in the government sector is one of the main reasons why parents are compelled to opt for private schools. These schools loot parents in the name of English medium education.” The association stated that there was an increase of 100 to 500 per cent in the school fee at all levels in the last eight to 10 years. The worst-hit were the middle income groups. The HSPA said laws which were in place were not being implemented properly.
Dr Chukka Ramaiah, an educationist, said parents must not be treated as customers who are only contacted for the fee. “Parents should be given part in curriculum framework, child development and organisations should be more proactive in all these activities,” Dr Ramaiah said. The HSPA, which over the past couple of years has staged unique protests to highlight its demand, has come up with a short film to show the pressure that parents face in terms of paying the school fee. The short film, Munni’s Dream, shows how the dreams of middle-class children remain unfulfilled because they education system they are stuck in has become unaffordable.
