MUMBAI, January 28: The Parents' Association of the Podar Blossoms and Lilavatibai Podar High School at Santa Cruz is on the warpath against a proposed hike in fees.Parents today put up banners and distributed protest tags in front of Bhaidas hall, the venue of the school's Annual Day function. For the first time, there will be a blanket hike in fees from the pre-primary to the secondary levels. From June 1998, the fees will be Rs 12,700 per year, irrespective of whether the child is admitted at the Junior KG or the Standard X level. This is 40 per cent higher than the present fee. Per level, the hike works out to 50 per cent for pre-primary classes from 1997-98 to 1998-99, 38 per cent for primary and 29 per cent for the secondary level, said the association.
This hike does not include miscellaneous expenses like books and hobby fees. Parents maintain that this increase is unjustified, considering that apart from increasing fees over the last four years, the school has also been increasing the number ofstudents per division and the number of divisions. They also flayed the management's alleged illegal ways of raising money, such as demanding that students pay fees three months in advance.
``The school charges an admission fee of Rs 700 twice over: once when joining standard one, and again at standard five, although the school title does not change'', said one parent. Apart from the regular fees charged, the school also demands payments like medical fees in the middle of the academic year, and a computer fee of Rs 1,200 per annum per child, beginning from the KG level.
Alleged Ashok Bhimani, association president, despite repeated requests to the school management over the last four months to reconsider the proposed fee hike, the latter has shown no interest. Nor has it formed a Parent-Teachers' Association to diffuse the situation. ``If the school authorities are adamant on going ahead with the proposed fee hike in spite of our agitation, we will be forced to go to court,'' said Bhimani.
Theassociation has forwarded written representations to education officers and minister Anil Deshmukh, which have also evoked little response.
Edulbehram could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
