High school fee a worry for parents

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, December 29

With the new academic session about to begin, many schools in Kangra have started the admission process. Parents seeking admission for their wards in kindergarten in private schools are a harassed lot as the fee is absurdly high.

A large number of parents have expressed concern over the abnormal increase in the fee pattern of private schools this year. They said like the HP Private University Regulation Act, the state government should also come out with some legislation for regulating admissions and fee structure of private schools. “A regulatory authority should be appointed so that parents are saved from being fleeced by these schools,” they added.

Many private schools are demanding Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 admission fee for nursery and Class I.

Education standards have gone from bad to worse. Even teachers are unwilling to send their children to government schools due to lack of quality education and other facilities, resulting in a high dropout rate in government schools this year.

Parents have also complained about being forced to buy textbooks, schoolbags and other material from specific stores, but nobody paid any heed to them.

A senior official of the Education Department said there was no law to regulate admission process and fee structure of private schools. He said unless the government came out with a legislation, private schools would continue to fleece parents.