With the hike in admission fee and tuition fee in most of the non-government schools, parents are spending sleepless nights. To enroll the children simply in play group in most of the public schools, parents are charged around Rs 10,000 for admission fee and told by the school staff to pay tuition fee of around Rs 1,300 per month.
Critics opine that education has become so expensive for the majority of people that they cant afford to pay school fees for their children. Even middle class families are finding it hard to pay increased admission fee and tuition fee in public schools but the government has remained apathetic.
In the last moments of the admission process in some public schools, it was observed that parents were given no time to think about school fee. School staff at Sherwood School on Haridwar Road was seen informing the parents about the fee and asking them whether they could pay the fees otherwise there was no vacant seat in the school. A visitor at this school said that he enrolled his daughter in play group on Wednesday. The school had charged around Rs 10,000 for admission fee and he was told to pay around 1300 per month to the school on particular date. According to him, though, he was not financially strong; he would try his best to pay the fees.
Raipur Resident Sumitra Bisht said that due to poor quality of education in government schools, she has to enroll her daughter in a public school in spite of having monthly income of around Rs 9,000.
According to her, in order to provide quality education to the children belonging to weaker section of the society, the government has implemented Right to Education Act and directed the public schools to enroll 25 per cent of such children. In Dehradun, around 13 well-known schools including St Thomas, MKP Road; Doon International School, Curzon School; Convent of Jesus and Mary School, EC Road; St Mary Convent, Turner road; St Joseph's Academy, Rajpur Road and others do not enroll such children as they have minority status and such schools have been exempted from the RTE Act.
One of public school principals said that quality education is provided in his school. Those passing out from his school are well placed in government or non-government sectors.
Considering the facilities provided to students the fees is not high. The admission fee includes school’s foundation day charge, computer lab fee furniture fee and other developmental charges. As per Supreme Court guidelines, schools charge 15 per cent additional of the existing school fee each year from the students.