NEW DELHI: Schools in the capital are once again getting ready to hike fees in the new session which begins in April. The management of most schools are likely to decide on the quantum of hike in March after they lay out the budget for the next academic session. "As the cost of everything is increasing, there will be a hike. It may be less or more than 10%,'' said L V Sehgal, principal, Bal Bharti Public School, Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, who is also the vice-president of National Progressive Schools' Conference (NPSC) a body of at least 110 schools.
The schools had earlier raised fees after the Sixth Pay Commision was implemented in September 2008. The directorate of education (DoE) accepted the recommendations of the Bansal Committee formed in October 2008 by Delhi government to look into the matter of a fee hike. As per DoE directions issued on February 11, 2009, parents had to pay upto Rs 500 as the hike in tuition fees besides a maximum of Rs 4,500 as arrears in two-three instalments though the matter is now subjudice.
"There hasn't been a hike in the last session. But there will be an escalation this year. We will look into our annual budget and decide upon a justified hike,'' said Bharti Sharma, principal, Amity International School, Saket. D K Bedi, principal, Apeejay School, Pitampura, said, "There are three months to go before the hike is introduced. It will be reasonable and will bedecided in consultation with government representatives. There are two nominees each from the government and the DoE on the management board.
'' Parents are worried. Said advocate Ashok Aggarwal, who runs a civil rights group called Social Jurist, "Schools hike fees by 10% to 30% every year. As per court directions, they can increase or decrease the fee according to their expenditure and projections. But schools assume that they can only hike the fee.'' He added, "Any increase so close to last year's hike may force more children to drop out of private schools.''
Times of India, New Delhi 16 January 2010
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