Hyderabad: As schools reopen for the new academic year, parents in Hyderabad remain distressed over exorbitant hikes in school fees, with some reporting increases of over 60% compared to last year. Parent associations claim that they have received complaints from several parents and maintained that the issue is likely to persist in the absence of a fee regulation mechanism.One parent, whose child studies at a private school in Nagaram, told TOI that there was a sudden increase in the annual school fee. “The fee increased from ₹35,000 last year to ₹55,000 this year. Transport charges rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per annum, taking the total annual expenditure from ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 in just a year,” the parent revealed, requesting anonymity.
“We had no option but to pay. The academic year has already begun and we cannot risk our daughters’ education,” the parent said, adding that he has two school-going daughters and that many families were silently bearing the burden of increased fees.Parents’ association representatives alleged that similar complaints were being received from multiple schools. Some parents have even reported fee hikes reaching up to 100%, though most of them did not come forward to speak about it.BVK Kishore, a member of the Hyderabad Schools Parents’ Association (HSPA), said schools are expected to communicate proposed fee revisions well in advance. “Fee structures should ideally be communicated to parents by January and displayed publicly. However, many parents come to know of the revised fee only when they reach the school to pay the fee at the start of the academic year,” he said.The president of the association, Venkat Sainath, said that the menace continues to haunt parents every year. “Every year, we address concerns related to fee hikes ranging from 15% to 50%. Without a fee regulation mechanism for private schools, the problem will persist. Most parents cannot come forward as they do not want their child’s career to be affected,” he said.Parents’ groups also pointed out that recommendations on regulating private school fees made by the Telangana Education Commission (TEC) are yet to be acted upon by the state govt.An official from the TEC said, “We have already submitted the draft bill to the govt and it now needs to be taken up by them.”Director of school education, Telangana, Dr A Naveen Nicolas, remained unresponsive.
