HYDERABAD: After the Hyderabad High Court stayed the education department’s order to maintain status quo with respect to school fee for the 2018-19 academic year, private schools in the city have now officially begun charging an increased fee. While several schools had initiated the process of a school fee hike as early as in December, some had put the hike on hold in view of the government order. Weeks after the HC quashing the government order, parents flay that the government is a mute spectator to their misery.
“Several schools that had not issued the hike fee circular earlier are now doing it much more boldly. Parents can’t even say anything because they have gotten a stay on the government department’s order to carry forward last year’s fee this year as well,” said Seema Agarwal, a parent.Schools like Scholars International School, St Andrews School, Kennedy High The Global School, are some of the schools that have reissued the fee structure with a hike. Depending upon the category of the school, the hike is anything between 3 to 10 per cent. For most upper budget international schools it is 10 per cent hike. “In our knowledge, there is hardly any school that has not increased the fee after the HC order. Those that had issued the circular but held it up after the GO have reissued along with those that had not issued any notification them,” said Pavan Reddy, from Hyderabad Schools Parents Association (HSPA).
Parents rue that the little hope they had got from the status quo of the Education Department has also vanished. “We were hopeful that finally, something favourable was happening. But that was not to be. I will be spending close to Rs 1.75 lakh on fees for this year for my two daughters,” said Ghazala Syed, who will be shelling out Rs 40,000 towards transportation fee of her two kids.