Telangana govt likely to cap private school fee hike at 8 percent
If private schools wish to increase fees by more than that, prior approval from the State Fee Regulatory Committee or the district committees will be mandatory.
Hyderabad: Telangana school education department has sent a proposal to the government which allows private schools to hike school fees by 8 percent, once in every two years, reports said.
If private schools wish to increase fees by more than that, prior approval from the State Fee Regulatory Committee or the district committees will be mandatory. A senior official from the Education Department stated that the committee will make a final decision only after thoroughly examining the documents submitted by the schools.
Private schools reject proposal:
In an expected response, private schools have rejected the proposal with Telangana Recognised School Management Association President Madhusudan Sadula said that the government has to revise annual school fees in accordance to Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the method followed in many other states.
He stated that schools have to provide annual salary increments for the school staff. He argued that the government should allow a minimum five percent annual increase without requiring any prior permission from regulatory commission. They have submitted a representation to the committee headed by K. Keshava Rao.
Parents criticise education department:
Meanwhile, representatives of the Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA) have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the proposal.
"Schools have already arbitrarily increased fees. There is no discussion at all on what the base fee should be," criticized HSPA president Venkat Sainath.
HSPA member Kishore BVK alleged that some schools are increasing fees by 50 to 80 percent every year. He demanded that the government strictly enforce these regulations and set up a special helpline for complaints.