May 26, 2009

Delhi HC directs Delhi Govt. unaided pvt schools to justify fee hike

Alarmed at the inflated figures shown by the unaided private schools, the Delhi High Court directed the schools as well as the Delhi Government to justify their stand on fee hike.
The court made it clear committees would be formed to see how the schools were raising the fees of students arbitrarily and disproportionate to the hike in teacher’s salaries.
A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and V K Jain told the Delhi Government’s education department that the committee formed by them had been quite ineffective so far. There was no justification what so ever in the manner each school has hiked the fees in a different fashion, the court lamented.
There has to be some checks and balance, the judges said.
Mr Ashok Aggarwal of the NGO Social Jurist drew attention of the court to a school which claimed to have 4000 students on its rolls and having 190 teachers and 400 classes. ‘There should be only 100 teachers at the most in such schools,’ he said.
Mr Aggarwal said the schools had given fictitious figures of the teachers and shown how they would have to bear the burden of the increase in salaries in the wake of the Sixth Pay Commission.
He said by giving false projections the schools were passing on the buck to the parents and all burden of the salary hike had been put on the students. This would deny the students the right to quality education - a fundamental right - as parents would be forced to withdraw their children from schools.
Mr Aggarwal said already the schools charged a lumpsum amount from each student as contingency fund which they used for giving salaries to the teachers.
He told the court that schools were misleading the parents as well as the court by showing incorrect statistics to justify the fee hike. There was no uniform pattern adopted by the schools to raise the fees but each school ‘in connivance with the Delhi Government officials is raising fees at its whims and fancy’.
The court said, ‘We will form a committee to look into the issue and we want an effective committee in each area to address the grievances of the parents.’ The court asked the Delhi Government and the private schools to give their suggestions about the type of committee to be formed.


http://www.indlawnews.com/Newsdisplay.aspx?9edcdc18-cd3d-4225-af4d-8139d74caf53

May 24, 2009

Whats happening with DPaS during Summer vacations !!!

Fellow Parents

Just to update you all on what activities is Team DPaS at present engaged with during the lean period of Summer Vacations
  • Awaiting for the next hearing in the High Court.
  • Formulating a special agenda & focus for DPaS future activities including formation of sub-committees for various activities being planned, once school opens up.
  • Working on larger agenda of gathering support for Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) across schools in Greater Hyderabad region. Today HSPA has active participation from 14 odd schools & is growing.
  • Working towards gathering of support from various bodies from across.

Let me remind you all once again its not just the fees that's bothering all of us, it all about value for money & societal commitments in the form of school education for the future citizens of our country that's on top of the agenda. Yes, crazy fee hikes is the one that joined us together, lets take this force to show the world what we all together can do.

Spread, join & participate in DPaS activities, once you're back from vacations, rejuvenated off course.

May 23, 2009

Delhi Government acknowledges school fee hike

New Delhi: The state government recently defended itself to the High Court for approving a hike in the school fees.
According to the government, the schools have hiked their fees to meet the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission to revise salaries of teachers.
The government has opposed the petition filed by three non-government organizations (NGO) challenging the fee hike in its counter affidavit.
According to the petition filed by Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, Social Jurist and Faith Academy Parents' Association - the government should have at least examined the financial records of the 99 schools and the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court and the High Court before allowing these schools to increase their fees.
The NGOs have also insisted the Court to issue directions for refund of the hike in fees collected from parents.
Apart from this, the government should ensure that auditing of accounts be done on a regular basis by the Controller and Auditor-General of India of these schools.
http://www.indiaedunews.net/Delhi/Delhi_Government_acknowledges_school_fee_hike_8177/

May 14, 2009

State to crack down on erring schools

State to crack down on erring schools
Special Correspondent
Plans to lay down fee structure for private schools
Objective to curb tendency among schools to charge exorbitant fee
Complaints cell to be set up in DEO office with phone no. 69996399
Hyderabad: Are you tired of paying through your nose for your child’s study? Capitation fee, donation and what not? Don’t despair. Just dash off a written complaint to the Hyderabad Collector or better still produce the receipt and be rest assured about the action. The donation paid would also be refunded.
The district authorities have decided to throw the rule book at the erring educational institutions. Alarmed by the exorbitant fee and donations being collected by a large number of schools, the district administration has proposed to prescribe a ceiling on fee. A proposal has been drafted and it is being sent to the government for approval.

Fee structure
District Collector Navin Mittal told presspersons here on Wednesday that an annual fee of Rs. 24,000 is proposed for Classes I to V for all State government-recognised schools. For high schools, the fee proposed is Rs. 30,000 per annum. For schools with CBSE/ICSE syllabus the fee proposed for primary sections is Rs. 42,000 and high schools is Rs. 48,000.
However, this does not cover the costs towards transport, food, uniform and text books. At the same time the school managements should not insist on students to avail these facilities.
The fee structure had been evolved taking into account various factors, including the salary being paid to the teachers. “The fee should not be so low as to kill education and not too high that it becomes a burden.”, Mr. Mittal said. He said there were enough provisions to take action under section 5 of Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Prohibition of capitation fee) Act, 1983. Only it had not been implemented so far. “The idea is to curb the tendency among schools to charge exorbitant fee. If no action is taken now things would go out of hand in future”, the Collector remarked.
He said a cell would be set up in the DEO office with phone number 69996399 to receive complaints. A three member committee with Assistant Director (Legal), Deputy Educational Officer and superintendent will monitor the cell.
As of now government had not prescribed any fee for schools.
As per the Act collection of capitation fee was strictly prohibited. Donations should be voluntary and they should be deposited in bank account and used for development purpose. Contravention of the Act was punishable with imprisonment not less than 3 years and it can be extended up to 7 years with a fine of Rs. 5,000.

http://www.thehindu.com/2009/05/14/stories/2009051458460300.htm

Hyderabad Collector now acts to Parents requests


RELIEF FOR PARENTS : Ceiling on fee collection in private schools soon

For all those parents who braved every obstacle to move the mountains, with lots of hopes & ray of light in their vision, its a moment to cherish this welcome news from Hyderabad Collector & also some direction being driven by the Directorate of Education. This wouldn't have been possible ifn't for you & you alone, for your relentless efforts over weeks for few & months for may. Thanks to each & every parent for their support & special mention to parents of Meridian School, DPS Hyderabad & Secunderabad, Sunflower School, St. Ann's & many other who made this happen. Thanks a lot to media (TV & Print0 for their support all through & the officials who followed & read the minds of thousands of parents not just in twin cities but elsewhere !!!

Hyderabad: If the Hyderabad district administration has its way, schools will no longer charge fee as per their whims and fancies. The administration plans to introduce an upper limit for fee collection by schools— state government recognised private schools as well as those following CBSE, ICSE and other boards—soon. For starters, from Thursday a help line, ‘69996399’ will be functional to help parents report on increase in fee or collection of capitation fee. As per a draft proposal, the upper limit for school fee for state government recognised schools would be Rs 24,000 for classes one to five and Rs 30,000 for classes six to 10. For CBSE, ICSE and other Board schools, the upper limit would be Rs 42,000 for primary classes and Rs 48,000 for six to 10. The schools can, however, collect extra money for transport, food, uniform and textbooks. The proposal would be implemented in 548 primary, 336 upper primary and 699 high schools in the city from the academic year 2009-10. “Schools have increased fee manifold. This will not happen if there is a ceiling on fee collection. The draft proposal will be sent to the department of school education for consideration tomorrow,” Hyderabad district collector Navin Mittal said at a media briefing here on Wednesday. Parents could get information from the helpline about the rules which prohibit schools from collecting capitation fee. However, for action to be taken against city schools, the parents would have to give a written complaint to the District Education Officer. “Even if admissions have taken place for the new academic year, the parents can give a written complaint. If it is proved, the school has taken capitation fee, it will be reimbursed to the parent,” Mittal added. The collector said based on the AP Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission) and Prohibition of Capitation Fee Act, 1983, collection of capitation fee was punishable with imprisonment of three to seven years. However, the schools could collect money voluntarily given to them. Though the collector prescribed fee upper limit, parent associations said there were ways by which managements could still fleece them. “The schools could collect fee for transport, food, boarding and other facilities, which are being exempted by the district administration,” Dharmender Agarwal, a parent of a student in city school, said.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIH&showST=true&login=default

May 09, 2009

Educationists slam fee hike by private schools

When do we see such grattitude from our very own Hyderabadi's ?
Thanks Priya for all your contributions ....

PUNE: Educationists and heads of renowned schools in the city on Friday joined parents and denounced arbitrary fee hikes in many private schools. They, however, had a word of caution about the proposed fee fixation committee.
Veteran educationist and director of New India School Meena Chandavarkar criticised unplanned hikes in fees in the range of a few thousand rupees and termed it as pulling the carpet from under parents’ feet.
She said, “Some city schools have increased fees up to Rs 8,000, which is totally unacceptable. Parents are by and large considerate and respond to schools’ genuine needs. But many schools had not even informed parents before the decisions were taken. It’s like stabbing them in the back.”
She said, “The fee structure of the school can be easily planned by anticipating needs. Parents also don’t object to a gradual increase in fees over a period of three to five years. In case of contingency, the school has the option of discussing the fee issue at the Parents-Teachers’ Association.”
Chandavarkar cautioned about the proposed school fee committee and warned that it should not become a green pasture for corruption.
She said, “The committee should also have enough infrastructure to expedite fee proposals in the same year.”
The government has skirted the burning issue of exorbitant donations for admission to kindergarten, she pointed out.
Sudheer Phatak, director, Millennium National School also denounced the 30 to 40 per cent hike in fees as unjustifiable. He said, “Unaided private schools have a right to decide their fee structure. But increase in fees within two years is not agreeable. Normally, a rise in fees every year should not be more than five per cent. Ideally, it should be linked to inflation. Schools should fix their fee structure for the next five years and declare it at the time of admission.”
He, however, disapproved the formation of the fee committee. The situation would not have worsened if government officials had followed rules concerning school audit reports before they hiked fees, he said.
GOVT ISSUES ORDERFollowing its submission before Bombay High Court, State education department issued an order on Friday, warning schools of cancellation of approval if they increased fees without permission of the proposed fee committee. The schools, which already announced hike in fees for 2009-10 would also have to abide by the committee’s decision, the order clarified.
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/05/09111151/Educationists-slam-fee-hike-by.html

A letter from a Parent

Dear Fellow Parents

It is indeed wonderful and heartening to see such trust and confidence we have placed in ourselves. I could not help but feel a child-like thrill when I heard of the interim order passed by the court. I am sure many would have felt the same. A small but sure step reiterating our firm belief. The school tried a 'DIVIDE and RULE policy'...(our Schools have taught us UNITED WE STAND)

I'd like to (on behalf of everyone) thank the few ( I guess 3) parents who took the initiative and flagged off this protest under the now famous tree, those that spoke to the management, those that got the Association registered, the writ petition filed, media attention.......I'd like to add here that the parent who brought the 5%-10% raise point is Mr.Nishikanth Mohanty (credit goes to his wife Sugata who brought it to his notice). Mr.Subramanyam...whom we better know as Subbu :) Thanks for your sense of humour (through every GBM) that brings a smile on to our Frustrated ...sun burnt...faces!

Lots of names come to mind...most of the parents collectively know U as the CORE GROUP...Thanks guys! Finally, KUDOS to all of US who strongly and firmly supported DPaS in its efforts.

WE HAVE MILES TO GO... in our attempt at truly making a Better Tommorrow for our kids! UNITED WE STAND

Thanks for a patient reading.

Warm Regards to All

Shivani

Article of interest



Today's Sakshi (Telugu News Paper) carried an article on the cause we're on & says the Director of Eduucation is working on to bring a notification as soon as the new government forms.

May 08, 2009

And we created the news ..




Few arcticles on our protest in print media today, after support from TV yesterday.
First one fromEenadu & the second one from Sakshi & in T.


May 07, 2009

A BIG THANKS TO ALL - From the President's Desk




Dear friends,
We've been reading lot of news from across the country for a month now & today its our turn to show to the world what we could manage. And the media who has been supporting our cause from day1, along with many other schools parents who stood & guided us.

I would like thanks you all and also our Advocates Sri Vasantha Rayudu garu & Sri Janardhan Rao garu for achieving the HC directive.
I know how much personal commitment and time it took for us to come so far, I know how many man hours of work has gone into getting the protest to the level where we are now.
I know there are many silent killers who have been helping us in many ways, the very first help they gave us is not paying the fee, otherwise we would not have got here.
To all the brave ladies who with stood Scorching heat, we salute you all, because of you all only we are looking good in front of everybody.
To those gentlemen who have done lot of background work, we remember you all and I am sure that it is your hard work that paid off, we admire your resolve in bringing the management to the negotiating table.
The road a head for us is not smooth anymore, we need to tread very carefully and our key now is information and Data, pls. help us with information, any small thing can do wonders.
Remember our GBM on 11th, where one parent pointed out Prospectus of 5 to 10% raise, now that small information is the key Prayer now in our writ petition. I would like to thank the parent " Sir, you are the key man , we owe you a lot".
Tomorrow morning our association members are there at Axis Bank , RP Road at 9:30 Am to help you all in paying only the Term fee and Bus fee. Those parents who wants to pay the fee, bring your old challans only, we will stand there with High court order to help you in paying the fee.
Last but not the least, We only got Interim order, long road to cover, be patient, we will reach our ultimate goal.
Together we win.

Jai Ho!!!

HC stays school fee hike

Bhubaneswar: Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed the Regional Director of the DAV Public Schools to appear in the court on May 13 and explain why they have issued a notice to hike fees at a time when the matter is subjudice.The court also issued a contempt notice to Regional Director Himanshu Mohanty for issuing the notice. The court also declared the notice as null and void. Expressing its solidarity with thousands of parents who have been suffering at the hands of the monopoly of the DAV Management, the court also directed private English medium schools not to oust the students who failed to abide by the enhanced fee structure.After the DAV Management decided to hike the fee arbitrarily without taking parents into confidence, the aggrieved parents knocked the doors of the High Court and appealed the apex court to bail them out from the problem. A number of parents also pointed out that how they were passing through mental agony as they could not be able to the meet the demands of the DAV management. The DAV management took the decision on the plea that they were planning to give salaries to the teachers at par with the 6th pay commission’s recommendations. But the school management failed to give answers to the queries of the parents on how they had spent the money which they collected from the students. Later, the Orissa High Court issued a stay on the Government notification allowing private English medium institutions to hike their tuition and development fees from the 2009-10 academic session. Some parents had challenged the move by schools to hike fees terming it arbitrary and unilateral. They had submitted that there was no transparency or accountability on the part of DAV public schools in fixing and implementing the hike.The Government on March 27 had allowed private schools to increase the fee structure provisionally up by 25 per cent only for those schools which were paying the 5th Pay Commission scales and were to implement the 6th Pay Commission award to their staff. Similarly the Development fees could be increased up to 15 per cent, the notification issued on March 27 stated.
http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=12477

HC stays school fee hike (ToI - Mumbai)

MUMBAI: In a huge, albeit interim, relief to parents across the state, the Bombay high court on Wednesday restrained schools in the state from hiking their fees. A division bench of Justice J N Patel and Justice Mridula Bhatkar granted the order following an assurance from the Maharashtra government that it would indeed set up a committee to monitor and regulate school fees (reported in TOI on May 2).
"Schools that have already hiked their fees for the new academic year will have to restore them to the pre-hike level," Sanjay Kumar, principal secretary (school education), told TOI. "Schools that wish to hike their fees will have to file an application before the proposed fee fixation committee. This committee will take the final decision on the matter," he said, adding that the committee would be set up in about eight weeks.
Wednesday's court order came in the wake of a petition filed by around 160 parents of students studying in the Bal Bharati Public School in Kharghar. Around 1,800 students study in the school which follows the CBSE syllabus. The parents complained that the school, which was charging around Rs 1,400 per month as fees, had hiked them by 50% for the next academic year which commences in June.
Kumar told the high court that the circulars would be issued to all schools in the state in this regard within a couple of days.
There are around 775 aided schools in Mumbai which charge nominal fees. In addition, there are close to 600 unaided schools, which follow various syllabi, including CBSE, ICSE and IB. Many of these schools have hiked their fees steeply this year, evoking howls of protest from parents already hit hard by the economic slump. What's more, there was no corresponding improvement in the teaching or facilities offered, they complained.
Last week, state education minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had said that the new proposed body, to be set up on the lines of the Shikshan Shulka Committee that regulates fees for higher and technical education, would monitor the fees of SSC, ICSE, CBSE and IB schools.
Parents, while welcoming the order, were however waiting for clarifications. "In recessionary times such an order is welcome. But, what about parents who have already paid the fees for the next academic year?" asked Sarita Deshpande of Borivli.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/HC-stays-school-fee-hike/articleshow/4493711.cms

May 06, 2009

From the President's Desk

Dear Brave Hearts,
Mercury levels are shooting and time has come for us prove that we are united in proving our point.
Just for your info., Yesterday DPS Hyderabad parents association was called for meeting and the management representatives requested them to help management this year. Association representatives clearly informed the management that we will, if you roll back the fee hike.
In Delhi and Chennai Parents are going for Hunger strike, the ultimate step, because they are feel that the hike is highly unjust. May be we will follow the suit, keeping our options open. Believe us, we will get what we deserve, and our resolve is very clear " Complete Roll Back ", till that time we are not paying the fee.
Pls. attend tomorrow's ( 7th May ) GBM at 8:15 AM Sharp with out fail, near DPS secunderabad.
Pls. use your contacts to call Media and Press, we need it now.
United we stand.

Jai Ho !!!

Parents plan demonstration, hunger strike to protest against fee hike in schools

CHENNAI: Parents who have united under the banner of the Educational Revamp and Protection Association, to protest against the fee hike in schools, held a meeting here on Tuesday. With the objective of fetching several on-the-spot registrations, the event was intended to familiarise interested parents with activities of the organisation as well as future plans.
"We are organising this meeting primarily to get an idea of the problems faced by parents, who are not members of our forum, in their children's schools. We have already distributed notices outside a CBSE school in Anna Nagar, sent letters to the chief minister's cell, the state secretary and education minister, and have sought through telegrams appointments with them. We plan to initiate court proceedings next week. If our steps come to no avail, we will organise a demonstration this weekend or form a human chain. If there is no action after that, we will go on a hunger strike sometime between May 20 and 25. We are waiting for the elections to get over and for things to settle down in Parliament," said K M Chellababu, secretary of the association.
Members of the forum planned to gather information about schools that were violating the by-laws framed by the CBSE and the directorate of matriculation schools. They planned to meet the heads of both the educational bodies and present a point-by-point memorandum, Chellababu added. The secretary said that the meetings would also serve to increase enrollment in the organisation. "We received consent from 100 interested parents within an hour of discussing the issue in a school. About 200 others had shown consent when we distributed notices. We think this meeting will help draw more interested parents to help the cause," Chellababu said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Parents-plan-demonstration-hunger-strike-to-protest-against-fee-hike-in-schools/articleshow/4488550.cms

May 05, 2009

From the President's Desk

Dear Parents,
You all have given us a dead line of 48 Hours in our GBM held on April 30, 2009 to file a writ petition in AP High court. May 1, 2 and 3rd were holidays and your Parents Association along with DPS Hyderabad Parents Association filed a writ petition against Vidyananda Educational Society. Our Main Prayer is to give a stay to Hiked Fee payment and allow us to pay only Last year's Fee. The case will come to hearing tomorrow & with your blessings we will get what we deserve..
Now, Can we request you all one thing, your association is working 24X7 to get roll back of Fee Hike in return what we want you do is Just not to pay the fee, let the school make 100 Phone calls, we stick to our ground and we achieve what we want.
Only one promise from your side that " You will not pay the fee, till you see the end result."
If you pay the fee, Management might say these many parents can afford the hiked fee, then why association is asking for roll back ? it means we are weakening our own case.
Pls. help us to help you.
Jai Ho!!!

All options are open to us - One step forward.

This article in todays Andhra Jothy talks about our Writ Petition filed in AP High Court due to no/non response of the school management to the issues raised by us.

May 04, 2009

One more paper carries article of interest to us


A reply from one of the parent

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX To: Dps Secunderabad dpssecunderabad@yahoo.in
Sent: Monday, 4 May, 2009 4:28:01 PMSubject: Re: No need to be panic and we are still strong.

If we have to diplomatically say no to school fees payment , just say that the parents are away on vacation and will be back only in June 09. We have to believe in ourselves that none of us will be singled out for any action for non payment of fees. This is a protest for roll back and we should stick to that. COMPLETE ROLL BACK

From the President's Desk

Dear Parents,
We are glad that you are still resisting the management's calls, Highly appreciated act and we must congratulate you all. Pls. stand firm on your ground and the we will come out in flying colours.
Did you anytime received any calls from school before, pleading for fee payment ? The answer is a big "NO"
Management understands only money language, Our resolve is stronger than ever now, we are on non cooperation.
Pls. ask the guy who calls you up from DPS about the new Challan , tell him to send it by your ward once the school reopens.
We are having General Body Meet (GBM) on 7th of May at 8:15 Near DPS Secunderabad to discuss about the issue. Pls. don't pay till you hear in the general body meet o 7th May.

Jai Ho!!!

May 03, 2009

From the President's Desk.

Dear Parents,
Some of us are might be getting info about the last date of fee or something related to that thru some means, I urge you all to ignore that. Have faith in yourself and your association, we have crossed the date April 15th, then April 30th, then May 5th, and now I am hearing that May 7th.
Take deep breath and think, Do you really know how much you have to pay ? Did they give anything about you belong to <5km>5km transport ? If you are using school bus, answer is "NO"
Did they give you any new challan with the new fee? Answer is "NO"
Last but not the least, How can they ask you to pay the fee, when most of us are on summer vacation and out of station? They can't insist.
When the answers are NO, why are we really bothered? More than 60% of the parents have not paid the fee, We are very sure that those brave hearts will withstand any storm to make us look stronger day by day and they are parents who will help us in bringing smiles in our lives. We salute you all for not paying the fee.
We are going to have GBM on 7th of May, Place and Venue will be indicated to you all again to update you all about the events that happened.
Just to brief you all, today there was meeting at JVR Park, about 120 Parents from DPS, HYD attended the GBM and unanimously resolved that they will not pay the fee, till the fee is rolled back. We salute them.
We on our part also resolved the same thing, we will not pay the fee, unless and until it is rolled back. Pls. look at the calculation below about what % of raise you can really afford to keep your children in DPS.
Just for your info, we are filing a writ petition as resolved in our GBM dated April 30th. Your association members are working day in day out to make things work for us, pls. make us look good by not paying the fee.

Pls. don't get disturbed by the dates, Together we win.

Jai Ho !!!

May 02, 2009

We're no different & we have support from every city !

Govt circular to schools on fee hike
KOLKATA: After a string of street protests by parents against a steep fee hike in schools, the state government has finally decided to rein in private schools from raising charges on their own.
The government bears the dearness allowance (DA) of teachers in these schools. Till now, private schools thought they were a law unto themselves and hiked fees without bothering about guardians' grievances. Director of school education Dibyen Mukherjee issued a circular to these schools on Monday to take guardians' approval before raising charges.
"It has been brought to our notice that quite a few English-medium schools have either raised or are contemplating raising their fees in order to disburse salaries of staff in accordance with government norms. Such actions have caused widespread resentment among guardians. The director of school education has requested to take a reasonable and judicious approach while deciding on a hike in school fee after consulting the guardians' forum," the circular says.
However, the circular does not specify what should be done by schools which have already hiked their fee. A majority of schools have gone for an overhaul, hiking their fees by as much as 30% to 80% in some cases. In monetary terms, these hikes range between Rs 275 to even Rs 2000 a month from April.
Modern High School has increased its fee by Rs 500 from nursery to class XII. "We had informed guardians in December, so they shouldn't complain. This had to be done in view of the growing costs of teaching," said principal Devi Kar.
The fee for students in Patha Bhavan's junior section (Montessori to class IV) has been hiked by Rs 300 a month. "But no other charges have been added," junior school principal Pradipta Kanungo was quick to add.
Schools contend they have to hike fees as teachers' salaries have been increased by the Pay Commission. Ballygunj Shiksha Sadan principal Sunita Sen said fees have been increased by Rs 275 a month from Rs 1250 to Rs 1525. Admission fee has been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.
At Mahadevi Birla Girls' HS School, a class VI student now has to pay Rs 1,150 a month or Rs 3,450 a quarter.
Shikshayatan Girls' School has increased the annual fee from Rs 15,820 to Rs 17,990 for the senior sections. "We have hiked the tuition fee from Rs 7,800 to Rs 8,700 and annual sessions charge from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000," said a school official. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Govt-circular-to-schools-on-fee-hike/articleshow/4457205.cms

School fee hike shocks parentsBangalore: Schools raise fees by up to 60 per cent in slowdown year, leaving parents shocked and angry
Bangalore's schools have hiked their fees by a staggering 20 to 60 per cent this year, leaving parents, already reeling under the slowdown, angry and agitated.
Some schools have doubled their tuition fees. Managements tell parents to expect a yearly hike of 10-15 per cent, but 40 and 60 per cent fee hikes are being seen as horribly insensitive in a year of pay and job cuts. At Deccan International School, parents protested the hike in fees for primary school students from Rs 25,000 to Rs 32,500. MiD DAY's persistent efforts to contact its management, over three days, met with no success.
Presidency School in R T Nagar has increased its monthly fee from Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,800.
Innisfree House School has announced a 32 per cent hike in term fees, paid once in four months, for primary school students. Children of class 5 have to now pay Rs 14,400 per term (paid once in four months) compared to Rs 10,900 last year. Again, its staff couldn't put us on to anyone who could explain the increase.
Delhi Public School has hiked the term fee (paid once in three months) for high school students from Rs 4,900 to Rs 6,150. Kumarans School was charging Rs 36,000 as a total fee inclusive of all expenses for children going from class 5 to 6. This year they are charging Rs 43,100 as tutuion fee, Rs 10,000 for bus and Rs 5,000 for books and uniform.
"That they increased fees at such a time is what makes it insensitive," said a Kumarans parent. National Public School has different fee structures at different branches. This year they have announced an 8 per cent hike in the annual fee. Admissions for a kindergarten class this year will set you back by a good Rs 65,000.
"Parents are afraid of job losses. It is not easy to pay higher fees this year," said Ramya K, whose two children study at National Public School.
Association take "Schools can hike their fees by 10 to 15 per cent every year, and new schools can charge higher fees... But the ICSC and CBSC schools which have hiked their fees by more than 30 per cent this year should justify their reasons to their central board councils in Delhi," said Krishna Iyer president of Karnataka Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools. The Karnataka education minister has promised to step in and help parents, but Krishna Iyer was sceptical the state government could do anything in the matter of fee structures.
"Nevertheless, schools have to follow guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, which state that schools should keep in mind the economic status of parents when they increase their fees. Schools cannot flout this guideline," he said.
Fee hikes: How much, where?
>>Deccan International School: Rs 25,000 to Rs 32,500 (30%)
>>Presidency School tuition fee: Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,800. (30%)
>>Innisfree House School term fee: Rs 10,900 to Rs 14,400 (32%)
>>Delhi Public School term fee: Rs 4,900 to Rs 6,150 (25.5%)
>>Kumarans School: Rs 36,000 (all inclusive) class 5 to 6 last year.This year, it is Rs 43,100 (tuition fee), Rs 10,000 (bus) and Rs 5,000 (books and uniform). (61%)
Minister seeks infoPrimary and secondary education minister Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri said he would gather information before deciding what to do. "I will find out which schools have hiked their fees. I have to see whether our department has received any complaints. Once I have all the details, I can initiate action," he told MiD DAY.
What is the legal position on fee hikes?M F Saldanha, former high court judge, said, "There is a substantial increase, which is not right. A reasonable increase is always permissible."
He said parents would find it difficult to pay high fees in a slowdown year.
He said the government had the authority to step in and question educational institutions. "I remember, few years ago in Mumbai, private schools went to court when parents objected to a fee increase. The court gave a judgment that the schools had the right to charge as they pleased, but I was against that judgment," he told MiD DAY.
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/apr/220409-School-fees-60-percent-hike-parents-angry-Bangalore-news.htm

Govt serves notice on school for fee hike
News4u-News Desk-Jaipur, Apr 1- The Rajasthan Government today served a notice on Delhi Public School-Jaipur for allegedly hiking school fee for upcoming session, an official said.
According to Principal Secretary of Education Department R P Jain, the notice returnable in three days was served on the basis of media reports alleging school for fee hike.
Appropriate decision will be taken after school management’s reply, he said.
Meanwhile, parents of students have decided to not to remit increased fee.
A delegation of parents under the banner of Parents Coordination Committee-Jaipur today met school management and urged to withdraw the hike till the report of the government committee over fee structure is not implemented.
An office bearer of the Coordination committee alleged that the school had increased its fee for session 2009-10 upto 60 percent as compared to that of session 2008-09 at a time when the fee committee of the government is to make public its report regarding suggested fee structure.
http://news4u.co.in/?p=16179

Fee hike in private schools:
A bird's eye viewRecently, the views of some parents regarding fee hike in private schools in Odisha have been published in different news papers and electronics media. The authorities of the schools are remaining silent on this issue. They do not feel to forward any statement in this regard.
Nowadays parents are showing overriding interest to register their wards in private schools. It might be having a lot of reasons. Probably answers to this query may be varied. May be transaction of curriculum in different government schools fail to attract the parents or the authorities concerned of such schools are not that caring to meet the expectations of the parents.
Further, parents are not satisfied with the facilities provided by the government schools. Either the infrastructure or other facilities provided to the students by different private schools are well thought-out to be advanced and fit for contemporary scenario in comparison to the government schools or the syllabus adopted by government schools possibly is not up to the expectations of the parents.
That's why a number of private schools are gaining the confidence of the public. In addition to this, parents do not have confidence in our State Board results as it can be manipulated at any time even with the wish of the political people or talking in English may be considered as the status symbol for many parents.
In our state, ‘No Objection Certificate' from the government is mandatory for opening up a private school. The first and foremost condition of getting N.O.C. for establishing a private school is that the school must provide salary and other facilities to its staff at least at par with the structure implemented by the government.
Secondly, an institution can adopt the fee structure as per the facilities it provides.
Thirdly, they can't enhance the fees at the middle of the session.
Fourthly, fee hike can be materialised only after a thorough discussion with the parent members of the Managing Committee. Incidentally, a number of grievances are cited by parents in this regard. How to choose this one or a couple of parent representatives for the School Managing Committee?
Whether an election would be held for this?
Whether to select those who judiciously ponder over the interest of the parents and the staff?
Whether to select as per a particular rule or to accept two parents from a particular group? Whether, the Govt. will send a couple of representatives from the Parent-teacher committee formed by it? Or, two from such barely 20/30 parents those who howl in front of the school and demonstrate strike by locking the school gate? Or, to turn the sacred premises of a school into a political platform where contemporary politics would reign by virtue of the prevailing political parties?
The government must demarcate its scope and chalk out a well accepted way for this.
Some schools are affiliated to I.C.S.E. or C.B.S.E. The very affiliation stands as an inevitable incitement and makes the school authority bound to give salary and other facilities according to the affidavit submitted. Any deviation in this regard leads to the cancellation of the affiliation. It is at this back drop, the private schools are predictably found in a virtual stalemate. This has poised a big question, whether the private school will stick to the proclamation made by the state government at the time of granting the NOC or the affidavit submitted to the concerned boards. In order to be true to the words (the affidavits) the predicament for all the private schools seems to be identical.
The doubt is further zoomed if one thinks about the number of schools adhering to such conformity. If yes, then what's the number? Whether our government has such statistics?
Now and then this has also been alleged by some that the staff members are not given their due salary. Is it a fact or a rumor? If this allegation is a fact, the situation is really alarming. To analyze this one has to muse about the profit-making intention of the Managing Committee. If the schools act upon the sworn statement, do they have any plan to implement 6th Pay facilities to the staff? Whether the 5th Pay structure is in operation? This is also apparent for the government to detect. If the schools are in tact with all such implementations, adopting 6th pay structure for them is undoubtedly a justified due and they must do it. Since private schools are self-financed, the implementation of the 6th pay structure in such schools can be done only through the fee hike.
For further clarification, one can take the verdict of our judiciary. One can take into account the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in its 11 members bench, vide Case no. 481 in 2002. This is the highest number of judges involved in the judgment in the history of Indian education. The verdict evidently mentions that fee hike is absolutely a matter of the Managing Committee. The Committee can procure fees from the students as per the requirements of the school. The government should not interfere. To add, the bench of the Supreme Court has also commended that the results produced by private schools are far better than the government schools. There is no compulsion for the students to take admission into the private schools as the schools provide quality education to the students who have taken admission by their choice. The school authorities can't be restrained from charging the fees required for running the institutions. If all these matters are considered it is difficult to find out an acceptable solution to the problem. As education is in concurrent list both the centre and state have the joint responsibility to resolve the problem.
Further, it is also noticed that the admissions for the coming session in these schools are deferred. Usually, admissions are opened in the month of January or February. Perhaps this has been postponed as the new fee structure has not been finalized till date. The delay, no doubt, has made the new aspirants seeking admission for their children stand on a cross road. They are anxious about a quick solution to this problem.
In this regard the notice served by the state government dated 24.01.09 seeking detailed information from the private schools regarding the enhancement of the tuition fees has not yielded desired results even the time frame given in the letter to comply such has been lapsed.
It is the moral duty of the government, Managing Committee of the schools and the parents to come forward and find an amicable solution.
From the above analysis three things are quite obvious – Firstly, the government should inspect the records of the schools and decide the fee hike, or the Parent's Association/school authority should seek the intervention of the court and be ready to abide by the verdict. The third probable solution is that the government should withdraw clause of N.O.C. that depicts the staff members should be paid at par with the government pay and to instruct all the educational boards of the country to withdraw this clause also. Or the government should announce openly that it is not mandatory to stick to the affidavit. But to lock the school and demonstrate or to give statements to the mass/electronic media or to increase the fee in a profit motive does not serve the purpose. For this we will be answerable to our future generation. If the student & parent communities do not pay respect to the teachers or the teachers do not pay caring attention towards the students for the attitude of their parents, no doubt, the foundation of the educational system will break down.
So let us come forward and work for a consensus that will ensure our children's bright and prosperous future. http://kalingatimes.com/views/news_20090301_Fee_hike_in_private_schools.htm

Three schools asked to roll back fee hike
NEW DELHI APRIL 29. Coming down heavily on public schools which arbitrarily raise fees, related charges and demand donations for admission, the Director of Education has summoned the principals and managements of Rukmani Devi Public School, Pitampura; Mount Carmel, Anand Niketan; and Rai Public School, Lodhi Road. They have also been directed to withdraw all unjustified increases failing which they would face strict action.
Taking a serious view of complaints received from parents and various other organisations, the Delhi Education Minister, Raj Kumar Chauhan, took the initiative and directed the Director (Education), Rajinder Kumar, to initiate steps to take control of the situation. Subsequently, the principals and managements of these schools were summoned and issued directions to be followed in all the cases. "I have been receiving complaints about the arbitrary hike in fee by certain schools and the indifferent attitude of the school managements. It has also come to my notice that in many schools the Parent Teachers' Associations have not been formed, that is a serious violation. The Department has taken a serious view of the whole situation and will not spare those schools who fleece the patients,'' he added.
The Director (Education) has directed the Rukmani Public School, Pitampura, to roll back all the charges they had levied from this academic session and charge only Rs. 1,200 as annual charges only which the managing committee was charging before increasing the fee, to charge computer fee only from students of Class XI and XII and not to hike any fee in any field. Similarly, Mount Carmel, Anand Niketan was asked to return the donations charged from the parents and send a copy of the acknowledgement from such parents, to submit an undertaking to the effect that the managing committee of Mount Carmel will not charge donations from any parents and to abolish the system of donation seats immediately.
The Rai Public School, Lodhi Road, was asked to roll back all charges levied from this academic session because they have already hiked the free much more than the permissible limit during the last two years. The school management has also been told to not hike any fee in any field. In fact, the issue had also been raised by the Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh which had launched an agitation in favour of the students. The Mahasangh convenor, Vijender Kumar, said certain guidelines needs to be formulated for schools so that they do not fleece parents at their own will. He said the lax attitude of the authorities was responsible for such a situation and said stringent action should be taken to make it a lesson for others.
Mr. Chauhan said the managing committees of these schools have been directed to strictly follow these directions and they have given specific assurances and undertakings that they would be doing so. He said other schools should also take a lesson from this and not resort to such practices. The schools should act responsibly and not indulge in practices which bring them bad name and adverse publicity. Stating that while the Government was not interested in interfering in the functioning of the schools, Mr. Chauhan said this should also not be taken as a blank cheque to effect unjustified decisions. http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/04/30/stories/2003043007380400.htm

STOP UNREASONABLE & ARBITRARY SCHOOL FEE HIKE
The Principal, Mr Manit Jain , Mr S C Jain The Heritage School, Gurgaon
Dear Dr. Mahesh Prasad,
The Parents of children studying in The Heritage School have been very disturbed over the issue of arbitrary increase in the school fee announced recently by the school management. The parents have met in the last few days and have discussed the matter with all sincerity and seriousness.
It is felt that the proposed fee hike is unreasonable and needs to be looked into taking following into consideration:
Advisory issued by the District administration to school managements:
Schools to defer the increase of fees and collection of arrear upto 30th April'2009.
Schools to invite all parents for complete discussion with facts and figures transparently.
Schools to submit Form 6 and display their last audited balance sheet for parents to have understanding of their financial health.
Few Other Facts and concerns:
The school fee in 2004 was Rs.10000 approx. per quarter and in the present year is Rs.24000 approx per quarter which translates into an increase of 240%.
School has not only increased the fees by almost 240% but has also increased the Students: Teacher ratio from 1:20 to 1:30+ which effectively translates into 360%+ increase in revenue for the school in last 4years.
The salary hike of teachers is for all schools irrespective of their fee being Rs1000/- or Rs10000/- p.m. across the country but no where the hike is so steep.
Delhi High Court ruling and Delhi Govt. guidelines to restrict the increase in fee by not more than Rs500/- per month & arrears of not more than Rs 4500/-.
Even Schools like Vasant Valley which have better student teacher class room ratio than Heritage have only increased the fee by Rs. 500/- per month and arrears of Rs. 4500/- in all. The same is true for most other prominent schools in NCR.
The increase of Rs.1500/- p.m for 1600 students translates to Rs. 24,00,000/- per month. Not taking into account the fresh admissions.
For 175 teachers this increase translates to Rs. 13,714/- per month per teacher irrespective of their grades.
The average increase in salary of teachers over the old pay scale is only 30 % approx and not 70% as stated in the circular.
Additional fee is charged for sports & Music by school which is Rs800/- to 1000/- per month. Which never gets accounted for?
While other schools are charging Rs750 per month for the bus heritage charges Rs1500 per month and last time the school management had increased the bus fee on account of increase in diesel cost which has now come down substantially.
The Bus fee in the last four years has also been increased from approx from Rs1900 per quarter to Rs4500 per quarter.
What we want?
1. Total transparency, sharing of data and roll back of fees in line with district administration guidelines till further decision and solution is arrived.
2. School needs to be more transparent about the actual regular teacher (excluding adhoc) and the number of students to arrive at the actual incidence of 6th pay commission,
3. The ratio of 1:9 teachers - student appears to be too good to be true. The actual number of students each section are average 30.
4. The Increase in maintenance & development Charges is also unwarranted as the development has already been done and the cost of new wings being added for various other reasons should not be recovered from the parents. It should be from internal accruals or by way of investments from the trust.
5. Considering the poor market condition and disturbed time ahead, it is requested that School meet part of expenses from its internal accrual and not pass on 100% to parents.
6. The bye laws, provisions or directives of CBSE for affiliation, Haryana School Act Education Act 1995 & DC & SDM Gurgaon are adhered to.
http://www.petitionvoice.in/stop-unreasonable-and-arbitrary-school-fee-petition.html

Karnataka School puts fee hike on hold
PUNE: After a sharp reaction from parents, Dr Shamrao Kalmadi High School (Karnataka High School) has cancelled its earlier circular hiking the annual fee by Rs 7,000. The final fee structure is likely to be announced by the month-end.
Karnataka High School had raised the fees of students to Rs 20,000 for all classes from the next academic year. The present fees for Std V to VII and VIII to X are Rs 12,800 and Rs 13,800 respectively. Parents received a circular concerning the hike on March 31, around the same time when many other schools announced a rise in fees.
Parents were annoyed by the steep hike. The school management, on the other hand, justified the hike, citing various reasons. Sensing opposition from parents, the school circulated a fresh note on April 9, saying the earlier circular on the fee hike, stood cancelled.
The note was signed by headmistress Kamini Saxsena and society secretary Kushal Hegde.
“The school announced the withdrawal of the earlier circular on the same day, when we were to submit our petition to the management. We are thankful to the school management for reconsidering the hike,” said one of the parents. A fresh decision on fees is likely to be conveyed on April 29, the day of the results, he added.
The school management was not available for comments.PUNE: After a sharp reaction from parents, Dr Shamrao Kalmadi High School (Karnataka High School) has cancelled its earlier circular hiking the annual fee by Rs 7,000. The final fee structure is likely to be announced by the month-end.
Karnataka High School had raised the fees of students to Rs 20,000 for all classes from the next academic year. The present fees for Std V to VII and VIII to X are Rs 12,800 and Rs 13,800 respectively. Parents received a circular concerning the hike on March 31, around the same time when many other schools announced a rise in fees.
Parents were annoyed by the steep hike. The school management, on the other hand, justified the hike, citing various reasons. Sensing opposition from parents, the school circulated a fresh note on April 9, saying the earlier circular on the fee hike, stood cancelled.
The note was signed by headmistress Kamini Saxsena and society secretary Kushal Hegde.
“The school announced the withdrawal of the earlier circular on the same day, when we were to submit our petition to the management. We are thankful to the school management for reconsidering the hike,” said one of the parents. A fresh decision on fees is likely to be conveyed on April 29, the day of the results, he added.
he school management was not available for comments.
http://www.sakaaltimes.com/2009/04/15140020/Karnataka-School-puts-fee-hike.html

Are we expensive or at par with DPS School in Benguluru ?

Most of us know that Bengaluru is one of the most expensive cities to live in India & Hyderabad is one of the economical (or used to be ???) one. However our school management makes us feel different & has decided to put us above them, atleast interms of fee's.

Can we collect more data from across DPS Schools in India & compare vis-a-vis ???

May 01, 2009

BJP leaders meet Dikshit, seek relief in school fee hike

Wed, Apr 29 08:52 PMNew Delhi, April 29 (IANS) A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Wednesday met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and demanded relief for parents from the recent hike in school fees.
The delegation led by senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra explained the issue to Dikshit.
'After listening to the BJP delegation, the chief minister said she will try to resolve the issue of increased fees and arrears. After the elections she will ascertain the views of all the parties concerned and find out a solution of the problem,' the BJP said in a statement.
Delhi BJP president O.P. Kohli said: 'It is the responsibility of the government that it protects the right of education of every student. Most people in Delhi are not capable of bearing the burden of the increase in fees and arrears in the time of price rise, unemployment and recession.'
Many private schools here have decided to hike tuition fees by 50 percent to raise the teachers' salaries in tune with the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090429/818/tnl-bjp-leaders-meet-dikshit-seek-relief.html

MoM & Letter Submitted to School (30.04.2009)




Schools told not to hike fees: MCD

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that it had asked the managers of all recognised schools under it not to increase the tuition fees and other charges for school children without prior permission of the Director (Primary Education).
The civic body further informed the Court that it had also asked these schools and the societies running them to provide details of their balance sheets, profit and loss, and receipt and payment accounts.
The MCD provided this information to the Court in reply to a petition by three non-government organisations of the Capital challenging the Delhi Government’s decision to allow the city’s private schools to raise the tuition fees.
Meanwhile, one of the judges of the Division Bench hearing the matter has recused himself from the case saying that there was a conflict of interest as he had earlier represented a private school in the matter when he was a lawyer.
Earlier, another judge of a different Division Bench of the Court had refused to hear the matter.
A different Bench will now take it up for hearing on Thursday.
The petitioners—Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, Social Jurist and Faith Academy Parents’ Association—through their counsel Ashok Aggarwal submitted that the decision to allow the schools to increase the fees was not based on any rational or legal basis.
The petitioners said that the Government should not have allowed these schools to increase the fees without examining their financial records and going through the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court and the High Court for a fee hike.

Refund
They also urged the Court to issue a direction for refund of the increased fee collected from the parents. The Government should also ensure auditing of the accounts of each of these schools by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India in terms of Section 18 (6) of the Delhi Education Act, 1973, the petitioners stated.

Clarifications to all

Friends

- Our association has been formed with only one goal behind all of us is to make our school the best in the city.
- Today it has formed out of necessity that demands role back of fee, doesn't mean we're dead against the school management or any one else
- We're now a group of over 600 parents & each one of us come with our individual strengths & from different walks of life's, which pooled together can only make OUR SCHOOL THE BEST
- No matter what our personal views are end goal for the team is to make school management take parents & teachers into confidence & achieve the results with mutual trust & faith.
- As mentioned, every individual has their own style of functioning & approach towards the goal & if there are differently viewed friends, it doesn't matter if not today tomorrow they'll follow the best of our contributions.
- No mole, spy, management agents etc words here, after all we're in the same family & this has been re-confirmed by no other than Mr. Umanadh said, when he meet the parents the other day & we're proud of it.
- Some one having personal agenda in unison with our larger agenda are welcome but not one's selfish interests, because we have joined hands, braved every odd & are focused on our goals. Lets not have any individualistic or personal comments & just remember we're all in the family.
- All coments & suggestions are welcome & we standby for working in open trust & faith with all transperency & every information is made public.

Jai Ho !!!

Delhi court grants relief to private schools on fee hike

New Delhi: Private schools in the capital on Thursday got relief from the Delhi High Court as it stayed a Delhi government move to impose conditions on fee hike.
A division bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Suresh Kait stayed the government's public notice and asked it to file by May 26 a detailed reply to the objections raised by the schools.
According to the public notice, the schools will have to seek approval of the parent-teacher associations (PTAs) before deciding on a fee hike. Based on PTAs' recommendations, they would have to approach the Directorate of Education (DoE) to review their case and allow them a hike.
The court expressed its displeasure as the government did not respond, despite the court's direction, to a plea by a group of parents and asked it to reply by May 26, the next date of hearing.
Earlier, the court termed the fee hike by private, unaided schools in the capital was "highly objectionable".
"This (hike in fees) is highly objectionable. Let there be some examination on the whole aspect," observed the bench hearing a public interest petition.
Appearing for an association of parents, counsel Ashok Aggarwal earlier told the court that the government had gone contrary to the recommendation of the S.L. Bansal Committee, constituted to look into the school fee hike.
The Delhi Abhibhavak Mahasangh, aided by NGO Social Jurist, had challenged the DoE notification on the grounds that it violates the orders of the high court and the Supreme Court that the accounts of each school be examined before they are allowed to hike fee.
The schools have been demanding up to 50 percent hike in tuition fees in order to give teachers a raise and arrears in accordance with the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.
The DoE has created five slabs on the basis of the existing tuition fees in schools, allowing them a maximum fee hike of Rs.500. (IANS)
http://www.headlinesindia.com/education-news/fee-hike/delhi-court-grants-relief-to-private-schools-on-fee-hike-10101.html