Parents on Sunday complained that many private schools in Kashmir have increased the annual fee for the current academic session without formal approval from the competent authority.
Parents of students of Tyndale Biscoe and Mallinson higher secondary school complained that they have enhanced the annual fee by Rs 1000 without approval from the school fee fixation committee (SFFC) constituted to regulate the fee structure of the private schools.
Last year the annual charges for class 3rd were Rs 3000 which has been enhanced to Rs 4000 this year.
“We have no problem if it is approved by the SFFC but we won’t allow the school management to hike it arbitrarily and fleece the parents. If it goes unchecked then the school will increase it next year again which is not justified,” said Muhammad Ishaq, a parent.
Similarly, parents of students enrolled in Doon International School (DIS) Srinagar also complained about arbitrary hike in the annual fee.
The parents said the school management this year charged Rs 6000 from the parents which according to them was Rs 3000 earlier.
However, the chairman DIS said the school has been charging Rs 6000 annual fee for past many years “but it was collected in two instalments.”
“This amount includes Rs 3500 as camp charges which were charged when students were taken for a summer camp,” he said.
He said this year, the school collected whole amount at the beginning of the academic session.
Director Tyndale Biscoe and Mallinson higher secondary school, Parvez Kaul confirmed the hike in annual fee and attributed it to the inflation.
“This fee is utilized for taking students on camps and other activities where we are dependent on market rates,” he said.
He said the rates don’t remain constant in market due to which the school also increased the annual fee. “Parents must understand it and should not make issues unnecessarily,” he said.