Hyderabad: The academic year 2011-12 could leave a bigger hole in the pockets of city parents as schools are expected to hike fee, with the high court directive on regulation of fees in private schools gathering dust with the government. Several schools are gearing up to announce a 10-50 per cent fee hike from the coming academic year.
While several schools have already communicated to the parents their fee hike decision orally hike, others like Meridian have even sent out circulars. Chirec and others have gone a step ahead and uploaded their revised fee structure on their websites. This even as the school education department is sitting on the court directive to monitor fee hike.
Parents rue that the state government has failed to keep its p ro m - ise of checking undue rise in the fee structure. “The GO Ms No 91 was challenged in the court by parents and the judge ruled in our favour. Though the school education department was given the complete responsibility of keeping tabs on the fee, orders were not followed even three months after the judgment,” said Kamal Malliramani, member, Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA).
According to parents, the new admissions to some schools for the 2011-12 academic year have been done as per the revised fee. “In HPS Nacharam and Mahendera Hills the fee structure for new admissions is 25 per cent higher than that of the previous years. And the schools have orally communicated to the parents the decision to increase the fee for old students by 40 to 50 per cent,” said M Ravi Kumar, a member of HSPA.
'Move to hike school fee should be checked now’
Officials of the school education department said they would act on the court’s order before the beginning of the next academic year. Parents said this should be done before March when schools would announce their new fee structures.
Schools on their part say there is nothing amiss in the fee hikes announced for the next academic year. “Since there has been no follow up of the court order, we are well within our rights to take the approval of the school managing committee and increase the fee. If parents have a problem, they can directly approach the school,’’ said Usha Reddy, principal, Meridian School.
As per the court orders issued on August 2010, the fee structure of the schools had to be decided by the director of school education. The order further stated that the fee structure decided by the DSE would not be raised for a period of three years. The state government was also asked to emulate the Tamil Nadu government’s policy where the fee structure of every school was systematically audited.
Meanwhile, apart from the fee hike, schools seem to have also found other ways of filling their coffers. The so-far optional mess facility has now become compulsory the annual charges for which are Rs 14,000. In some schools bus facility is a must for all students whether they need it or not.According to parents, the total fee hike across schools is expected to range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/As-govt-sits-on-HC-order-schools-in-city-hike-fee/articleshow/7308471.cms
Showing posts with label Hyderabad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hyderabad. Show all posts
January 19, 2011
July 23, 2010
School buses double up as marriage coaches
Some managements running maxi cabs and luxury tourist cabs for transporting students
Special camps being organised to ensure safe transportation of students, maintenance of buses
Hyderabad: Several school and college managements have now found a new way to make quick money by operating their buses to private functions on the sly.
Two buses of Ascentia Global School, Madhapur and Nizam Institute of Engineering, Gachibowli were seized by the Transport Department last week for operating their buses for marriage parties, according to Secunderabad Regional Transport Officer V. Sundar. The managements were levied a penalty of Rs. 2,000 each. Educational institution buses are given subsidies in terms of road tax and they are not supposed to operate buses for private functions even during holidays.
But it was found that many institutions were violating the Motor Vehicles Act and operating their buses as contract carriages, he said. This apart, many managements in violation of MV Act had purchased maxi cabs and luxury tourist cabs to operate them as school buses.
As per the Act, a school bus should have safety grills outside the windows, provision for first aid box, an attendant to help students board and alight buses, etc., but such provisions lack in maxi cabs.
The objective behind purchasing maxi cabs is to use them for their personal use during holidays and beyond school hours since using a school or college bus would not be feasible. Last week, a maxi cab belonging to St. Andrew's School was seized for operating it as a school bus, said Mr. Sundar. A special drive was launched last week and already 14 school buses belonging to Narayana School, Pallavi Model School, Delhi Public School, Grahambell School and others were seized for different violations, including employing drivers lacking valid driving licenses.
Over Rs. 3 lakh was recovered as penalties from the managements, he informed.
“Special camps are being conducted in schools on maintenance of school buses and safe transportation of students. Two such camps were conducted at Delhi Public School and Meridian School on Saturday,” said Joint Transport Commissioner B. Venkateswarlu.
July 20, 2010
School admission only through draw of lots
HYDERABAD: From the next academic year, it's luck and not merit that would get your child admission in reputed private schools in the state. The state government has decided that a draw of lots will replace screening tests in private schools as Right to Education Act (RTA) banishes these admission tests. According to officials from the department of secondary education, the schools which do not admit students on the basis of a draw of lots, will be fined Rs 25,000 in the first instance and Rs 50,000 in the second. "The draw of lots will have to be done before the district magistrate. No school will be allowed to conduct admissions without using the random sampling or lottery system," said Dr D Sambashiva Rao, principal secretary, secondary education, adding that the system is already in place in other states.
According to the new rules, admitting students without lottery system would be punishable under 13 (2b) of the RTE act. While the state government said that the system would give all students equal opportunity to take admission in schools, the management representatives of schools said that the decision infringes on the schools' authority to choose their students. They added that it would also deny seats to students who are genuinely interested in taking admission. "If admissions are done by a draw of lots, many conventions, like giving admission to siblings in the same school, would have to change. Parents will be more worried than ever during admission time if the rule is implemented," a management representative said. The management representatives are planning to ask the state government to devise some other method to conduct admissions in the coming academic year.
Meanwhile, parents from the city said that merit should be the criteria for admission into private schools. "There are parents who might want their children to study in specific schools. If admissions are done through a draw of lots they might be denied this opportunity. Besides parents are also worried that they will have to get their children admitted in neighbourhood schools as per the Act," a parent said.
Until recently, for admission into primary classes, students were being screened by oral examination and in upper primary and high school classes admissions were being done through written tests. Parents, however, said that admissions to the 25 per cent reserved seats under RTE Act should be done through the lottery method.
Meanwhile, trying to put the parents' doubts to rest, officials from secondary education department said the system is meant to put an end to donation and capitation fee in the state.
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