Parents borrow money for fee in Nizamabad

Nizamabad: The steep hike in private school fees and escalating costs of textbooks, notebooks, uniforms, shoes and other items are forcing parents to borrow money from moneylenders or financial institutions, such as chit funds and finance companies.

Most parents are unable to afford this huge financial burden. Private schools in Nizamabad district have already ratcheted up their publicity blitz for the academic year 2016-17, trying to draw parents’ attention through flexi boards, pamphlets and posters, displayed in towns and rural areas, advertising their facilities. Public relations officers are also hard at work, trying to locate children who may be ready for residential schools too.

Raj Bahadur Venkatram Reddy (RBVRR) educational society president N. Dinesh Reddy said that they were keeping in mind the financial status of parents and collecting nominal fees.

“Being a non-profit organisation we are maintaining the school, equipping it with advanced infrastructure and helping students from the economically disadvantaged sections. Private schools should get inspired by the service motto,” he said.

Private schools in Nizamabad are charging Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000 for admission into nursery, and other school managements have also been following suit. The Education department is unable to monitor the fee collections of private schools.

A section of student union leaders who are regular recipients of donations from the managements of private schools have been looking the other way instead of addressing the fee hike while no parents’ committees exist in schools.