Another Chennai school faces fee protest
Anguished parents started gathering outside the school premises even as early as 7 a.m
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-06-09 02:20 GMT
CHENNAI: Close on the heels of the Bala Vidya Mandir fee controversy, parents of Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School on Anderson Road here staged a demonstration on Monday to protest a “massive hike” in fee structure.
Guess the hike. It is Rs 60,000 as against Rs 13, 915 fixed by the authorities, parents say. Anguished parents started gathering outside the school premises even as early as 7 a.m.
T. Kishan Kumar, president, Asan Parents Student Welfare Association, said the protest was more like a campaign to create awareness among parents on the exorbitant fee being charged.
“Many parents are not aware of it. DPI has fixed the fee at Rs 13,915 whereas the school is asking Rs. 60,000 for whole year. The principal said they are collecting the sum citing other amenities. But when asked about the amenities, the Principal could not give the list of it, except stating that the AC will be provided in the classrooms," he said.
According to PrincipalpMrs Suma Padmanabhan, only the parents of UKG children protested. "They have paid the same amount when their children were in LKG. But I don't understand why they are protesting now. Rs.13, 915 is the tuition fee and DPI has provided us all the norms and regulations to charge for the amenities," she said.
She further said the entire sum collected was for providing amenities, which include AC classrooms, smart classes (digital classes) programs like dance, music, drama and many other activities throughout the year.
R. Harinath a parent, said that last year the amount for UKG was only Rs 28, 000 only. He wonders what LKG and UKG students would understand from digital classes. Revathi (name changed) a parent said, "For class 12 the fee is Rs 58, 000, which is quite logical as they have practicals and other stuff. How could the fee be more than Class 12 for UKG, she wanted to know.
She added that the books alone cost Rs 3,000 and the school had provided seven books. "Every year they force us to buy new uniforms," she said.