In tricity, nursery admissions come at a branded cost!
Hina Rohtaki
Tribune News Service
Panchkula/Chandigarh, December 1
Admission to nursery classes in tricity schools is no child’s play. It comes at a heavy price.
Besides the fee for a new entrant, that varies between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1,65,000, parents are being literally “coaxed” into buying branded uniform, school bags, books and shoes, which is burning a hole in their pocket.
Though schools claim that they do not force the parents to go in for a particular brand, the "advice" for particular brands comes in the form of recommendations. Some schools ask for brands such as Kapsons, Black, Nike and Reebok for uniform, shoes, bags and water bottles.
A simple uniform costs around Rs 1,000 while for branded ones, parents have to shell out up to Rs 3,000. "For the winter uniform, which includes sweaters and blazers, we have to shell out even more,” said Aarti Walia, a parent. The price range of shoes starts from Rs 350 while the branded ones cost up to Rs 2,000.
Sanjay Thareja, Director of The Gurukul, Sector 20, Panchkula, said, “We only make some recommendations, but parents are free to buy these from whereever they feel like. To maintain uniformity, we have asked parents to buy blue school bags.”
“We give a list of recommendations, but don’t force the parents. Our uniform is simple. For books also, we have certain stores on the list,” said Director of Strawberry Fields High School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, Atul Khanna.
A set of books with stationery for an entrant costs between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000 at a well-known store in Chandigarh that sells imported books while the nominal one costs around 2,000. The branded book store also prepares worksheets for a renowned school that forms part of the annual fee.
School bags and water bottles also come for a hefty price. “Though a normal school bag costs around Rs 800, my elder daughter says that everyone in the school gets a branded one; so for my younger son, I will have to shell out around Rs 3,000,” said Vivek Kalia, a parent. A strolly bag costs around Rs 4,000.
The water bottles also range between Rs 400 and Rs 1,200.
On the branded stuff for kindergarten students, HS Mamik, Director of Vivek High School, Sector 38, Chandigarh, said, “It is precisely for this reason that we don’t have any uniform for nursery and KG students. They can wear casuals and bring bags of their choice. We just provide scrapbooks from our side.”
Strawberry Fields High School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, tops the list with a total fee of Rs 1,64,600 (admission fee: Rs 80,000 and annual fee: Rs 84,600).
The total fee at The Gurukul, Sector 20, Panchkula, is Rs 1,20,000 (admission fee: Rs 60,000 and annual fee: Rs 60,000).
Similarly, Gurukul Global School in Mani Majra has an admission fee of Rs 75,000, apart from other charges.
St Kabir School has an admission fee of Rs 25,000, other fee of Rs 11,000 and an annual fee of Rs 32,880. At the entry level, the total fee works out to be Rs 68,880.
Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, another sought-after school in Panchkula, costs Rs 59,000 to a new entrant (admission fee: Rs 35,000 and annual fee: Rs 24,000).
The DPS, Sector 40, Chandigarh, is yet to decide the fee, but it is likely to be nearly the same as that of last year with a 10 per cent hike in the annual fee.
