Rising School Education Cost

School fees are scaling dizzy heights and will be 40 to 100 per cent more than what they were last year thanks to the pay commission recommended salary hike for teachers. Big schools in Calcutta have already upped tuition fees by 50 per cent. The CNI schools are soon going to follow suit. Not only the tuition fees, the session fees have also been raised in almost all the schools. This is happening at a time when most in the private sector are facing cuts in their salary as well as increments and performance bonuses.

With the effects of the economic slowdown hitting hard to most in the private sector, this additional burden will surely be a dampner. Few schools have sent out letters to the parents informing them about this last week. Also said in the letter is that the schools are left with no other option when the Most of the established schools are sitting on crores in bank deposits.

The S C Bansal Committee, constituted in October last year to look into the fee hike issue, submitted in its recommendations, a hike from Rs 100 to a maximum of Rs 500, depending on the current fee slab they fall under. It had also recommended to schools not to increase any other fee till March 2010. This was subsequently challenged at the Delhi High Court. (http://indiaedunews.net/Delhi/School_fee_hike_'highly_objectionable'_-_Delhi_High_Court_7795/index.asp)
The government bowed down to pressure in this crucial election year. They did what was done with the salaries of the Central and State Government staff as well as the PSU staff. There is still some hope as the division bench of Delhi High Court has asked the Government to file its reply as to why the recommendations of the Bansal committee were not adhered to. The court asked the government to place on record before it the entire report of the committee on the next date of hearing.