Schools are resorting to different means to get parents to cough up large sums of money to guarantee a seat for their children. City schools will be announcing their ‘selection lists’ for the coming academic year 2012-13, and parents will be confronted with demands for more than just the tuition fee if they want a place in the school.
Demanding donations without issuing receipts has become a thing of the past. The managements are now officially collecting donations under different names. The money is sought for an admission fee, building fund, development fund, annual event fee, caution deposit, library fee, sports fee, recreation fee etc. Only the caution deposit is refundable, which in most schools is Rs 10,000.
Another money spinner for schools is selling uniforms, shoes, textbooks, notebooks and other stationery items from their own premises or at stores designated by them. The admission fee and ot-her charges could amount to Rs 50,000. This, of course, is over and above the tuition fee collected in three or four terms throughout the year, which adds another Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 to the bill. So great is the demand for decent schools that parents are stampeded into paying whatever is asked for.
“I got a call from the school saying that my child’s name is in the selection list. I was asked to pay the admission fee and other extra charges of Rs 30,000, the very next day. They said that only after this, would the seat be confirmed and I will be given details about the tuition fee,” said Ms P. Parineetha, mother of a Class I student. She was told that the admission fee was only a one-time payment and from next year, she would only have to pay tuition fees and other charges. “They also informed me that if I fail to pay the admission fee within the deadline, the seat will be cancelled and will be allotted to students on the waiting list.”