Fed up with ever-increasing fees and inability of authorities to control situation, parents are pulling out their wards from 'fleecing' private schools and enrolling them in institutes run by civic body
Fed up with ever-increasing fees and inability of authorities to control situation, parents are pulling out their wards from 'fleecing' private schools and enrolling them in institutes run by civic body
Fed up with fee hikes every now and then in private schools and the government's alleged inaction over the issue, parents have started pulling out their wards from the "fleecing" institutes and are enrolling them in the hitherto written off Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) schools. Lawyer Nitin Shethiya, a resident of Balaji Nagar, wanted the best education for his children for which he put them through a reputable private school. 
Lighter on the pocket: Children get facilities in PMC schools that are
on par with many private ones, say parents. Many are happy that the
PMC also has a CBSE school. Representation pic
But persistent chaos over fee hike in the school, where he had enrolled his 9-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son, has forced the lawyer to change his mind. Now, he has decided to pull his children out of the private school and get them admitted to a civic-run school.
"I am fed up with the fee hikes. Two years ago, I used to pay half the amount I am paying now. The fees are increasing exponentially but my earning hasn't increased as much. How do I cope with the pressure? And even after paying these astronomical fees, what do I get in return? There are no facilities in the private schools, classrooms are cramped and there are no playground as well," said Shethiya.
The lawyer sent several complaints to education board officials, but no action was taken. Frustrated, he got his children admitted to a CBSE-board affiliated PMC school. Shethiya isn't alone. There are many parents who have started pulling out their wards from private schools in favour of dirt-cheap PMC schools. Shivaji Sul, who works as a senior supervisor in a private firm, pulled his kids out of Crescent High School this month and got them admitted to the same PMC school.
u00a0"Even I am fed up of fee hikes and the refusal of government to do anything about it. It puts stress on our children as well and their studies get affected. In this new PMC school, we found facilities on par with private schools. In some cases, PMC schools are better than that of those arm-twisting cradles. The teacher student ratio is good, the school is airy, has audio visual facilities and also a playground. The advantage is that it is a CBSE-board affiliated school, so the curriculum and teaching would be standard," he said.
He said he spent Rs 45,000 annually per child towards school fees and other expenses, a formidable figure compared to Rs 28,000 he used to spend two years ago. While most private schools leave no chance to "fleece" parents, the PMC schools offer free education.
Mateen Mujawar, parent of three school-going children and the founder of Shikshan Hakk Manch that fights against fee hikes and irregularities, agreed that he knew of many parents who pulled their kids out of private schools. "The cases are many and the government is responsible for it. Who can afford such expensive private schools, especially when the fees start to double every year? There is no limit on this extraction of fees and that's why professional, salaried people are withdrawing their kids out from private schools and putting them in civic schools," said Mujawar, adding that he also has pulled out one of his children from a private school and put him in a PMC school.
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