BENGALURU: Parents whose children attend high-end private schools in Bengaluru are distraught as they allege fees being charged for facilities like library and building, though not used due to online classes. Schools have been shut since March due to the pandemic and some had started online classes.Parents have alleged that the schools are violating the government order that only tuition fees be collected and that they have barred their children from attending online classes unless fees are paid. The schools, however, have said they have made fee payment convenient.
D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary, Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, agreed that some high-end schools have been violating the government norms.Sijo Sebastian, whose daughter studies in Euro School in Whitefield, alleged, “The school raised the fees by 15 per cent and included other components such as library, maintenance fee etc. I was willing to pay only the monthly fees but I was not allowed to. Instead, they barred my child from online classes and I was forced to admit her to another school.”
Denying the allegations, Euro School said the fee is the same as last year’s. “There is a deliberate attempt to misguide by misrepresenting the facts (with regard to the fees). The school has provided multiple options to parents to pay the fees.”The Block Education Officer of South 4, Hanumanthaiah, said two notices were issued to the school on the fee structure and it complied by reducing the fee to the previous year’s.
Parents from Delhi Public School and VIBGYOR School too have made similar allegations.
“For my daughter studying in grade 4, online classes have been blocked as I did not pay the sports fee etc, included in the fees,” said a parent from DPS Electronic City.Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, DPS Group of Schools, said, “As per the state government notification, we have not increased the fee. The option of instalments has been given.”
VIBGYOR school in a statement said: “In order to maintain high standards of academics..., the decision on annual school fees was taken and conveyed to parents in February. To ease the financial burden for all parents, we introduced the option of monthly payments at no extra charge... we have adjusted several components of the fees already paid earlier, against future dues.”