Delhi schools to hike fee, parents anxious

Tuesday, December 23, 2008, (New Delhi)
Delhi schools continue to give the city sleepless nights. For those whose kids are in good schools, there is a bad news -- the schools want a whopping 30-40 per cent increase in fees by the end of this week.

Parents like Pranjali is getting ready to pay a whole lot more for her children's education. Her son and daughter both attend Modern School, which charges Rs 20,000 per month. And soon, that amount is likely to climb by at least Rs 6,000.

"It is going to be difficult. We have to see from where exactly the money would come? It's so much a burden for a single earner in the family. I can't even get a job at the age of 40.So we have to cut down vacation and outings in the weekend," she said.

All schools in Delhi are expected to announce a substantial hike in fees this week. The Sixth Pay Commission suggested a 50 per cent raise for schoolteachers. A Delhi government committee has been considering that proposal and will give its decision before Friday.

A lot of schools like KR Mangalam World School and Tagore International have already intimated parents about an expected hike in the fee without even getting it approved from the government.

The committee is likely to allow a fee hike of 30-40 per cent. But schools want more.

"This hike will not be enough to pay salaries to teachers. We also have to pay them their arrears since April 2006. Where do we pay them from? The new fees will apply retroactively from September this year," said R C Shekhar, Principal, Gyan Bharati School.

"They should hike it from next year so we also get some time to plan our budget. If this happens, we might have to pull out our children from expensive school to a cheaper one," said Hema Aggarwal, a parent. But that's unlikely to be the consensus in a city where good schools are on every parent's wishlist.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080077448