Nursery fees hit the roof

Kochi: The spurt of international schools in cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram has had competition between pre-primary schools intensify in terms of infrastructure and syllabus. It has also led to their hiking the fees, making such schools out of bounds for middle-class families. While the fees may not be on the same scale as big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, they are taxing parents enough in ranging between Rs 30,000 and Rs 60,000.

“These are fees for LKG and UKG classes in schools functioning out of a four-room building, 90 per cent of them being of this size. The annual fees charged by kindergartens have almost doubled in the last two years. Most reputed nursery schools now ask parents to make additional payments over and above the annual fees towards school infrastructure or other similar verticals,” said Sudheer G Kollara, president of the All Kerala Parent Teacher Association.

He also pointed out that most schools conducted 'written tests and interviews' for small children, this being another violation of the State government's norms. “This often ends up with the schools demanding a donation for the admission of the child. Parents have been complaining that the donation amount ranges up to Rs 50, 000 for pre-primary classes,” he said.

Parents, however, admit that the curriculum and playing equipment have undergone a vast change. “The nursery school where my son is studying insisted that they were following a 'complete health chart' and that they would provide the food during school hours. However, they charge nearly Rs 6,000 per year for this,” said Amrith S, a parent, who ran from pillar to post, seeking admission for his child in LKG.

Experts have called for classifying the schools into various categories after conducting spot inspections of the facilities that they offer and fix a model fee structure.