Hyderabad: Elite schools tweaking fee rules to fleece parents

Hyderabad: Laws, Government orders, Court verdicts, nothing stops some of the top private educational institutes in the city from fleecing the parents and virtually harassing them.

Many parents told Hans India that some elite educational institutions have become law unto themselves and if left unchecked could turn into sort of mafia in Telangana. They point out that these institutes were coming up with new rules and regulations which are causing financial and emotional turmoil for the parents.

A parent Kiran Mayee (name changed) said the elite schools explain more about the infrastructure facilities in these institutions. When asked about faculty, they claim that the staff were best.

Another parent said the schools are playing with the emotions of parents. They charge around Rs one to Rs two lakhs for LKG and UKG showcasing activities like swimming, skating, horse riding etc.

When asked why and what was the main issue, Karthik, (name changed) father of high school student studying in Chirec International School said the school has come out with a new rule that parents should opt for payment of fees through Electronic Clearance System (ECS). He said this is ridiculous. ECS is used for repayment of various bank loans. If schools adopt this system, parents will have to submit their aadhar and PAN details and this could result in their personal data being sold to third parties. It is not just Chirec other schools like DRS, Glendale Academy were also insisting on switching over to ECS system. The way Narayana and Chaitanya harass the parents is well known, the parent added. A parent showing a newsletter from Chirec said that the school informed them that they had taken 'Jodo" as their official fee payment partner to provide easy, reliable and secure process to schedule fee instalments with one time registration so that fees can be auto debited.

Can schools adopt such a system? Venkata Sainath of Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) said, "As per the decisions of the Supreme Court, unless one avails the aid from the state there is no need to give Aadhar. But the elite schools are using all kinds of coercive measures and forcing parents to sign an ECS mandate. Some schools are making available mobile applications offering loans for payment of fees. The parents urged the government to intervene in the matter.