Many Bengaluru schools defer annual fee hike

Sruthy Susan Ullas | TNN | Apr 8, 2020, 09:30 IST

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BENGALURU: With the Covid-19 pandemic taking a huge economic toll, many schools in Bengaluru have decided to not increase school fees for the upcoming academic year in a big relief for parents.
The Management of Independent CBSE Schools Association in Karnataka has also taken a similar stand on fee hike and said it would soon send out an advisory to its memberinstitutions in this regard.
Parents welcomed the announcements and said it was a thoughtful gesture by schools. The department of public instruction has capped the annual fee revision at 10% and most of the schools effect a hike of 5%-8% every year.
Koramangala’s Bethany High (ICSE) issued a circular on Monday, revoking the fee increase announced in February. The institution asked parents to donate that money to the government’s initiatives to raise funds to fight the virus.
‘Part of fee hike could be donated’
With increasing costs and the need to maintain the best standards of education, fee increase is inevitable. At the core, we are a responsible community. When there is a national call to participate in the fight against the virus, we must. We’ve appealed to parents that a part of the 10% fee hike (we had announced) could be contributed to PM Cares. If every school in the city can join us in this endeavour, then imagine the impact educational institutions may have,” said Akash Ryall, director of the institution.
On Tuesday, several schools joined Bethany in announcing a similar decision. The management of Delhi Public Schools that runs six schools has also decided against an increase in fees. Presidency School has revoked its planned fee revision move. According to Gear founder M Srinivasan, Gear Innovative International will give parents two options: Pay revised fees or old fees plus an amount they decide. “Our intent is to help our teachers. We do not intend to reduce the normal increments we give our teachers,” he added.
Associated Management of Private Unaided English-Medium Schools in Karnataka, which has a large number of budget schools under its umbrella, is preparing a strategy to help the underprivileged with admissions.