Play schools charge a bomb, but parents cool

Among the mushrooming playschools in the city, only a few seem to be doing a ‘serious’ job. Parents happily shell out an annual fee of Rs. 55,000.

Getting your child admitted to a play-school may prove to be an expensive affair.

But, most parents do not complain, as they believe that high-quality basic education for children is the best investment they can make.

Among the mushrooming playschools in the city, only a few seem to be doing a ‘serious’ job. The lush campus of Blooming Dale, a play school set up by the Nalanda Educational Institutions in 2005, is a major attraction for parents of toddlers.

Parents happily shell out an annual fee of Rs. 55,000. “Agreed that we are on the higher side, but unlike other playschools which more or less function as day-care centres, we have a structural curriculum. The child walks out of this place with a great degree of confidence,” claims Nageswari, principal, Blooming Dale.

Lively environment

Pointing to the well-made lawns, the playpen area and the spic and span air-conditioned classrooms, she says a lively environment is essential for a child to like a play school.

If one thought the fee is high, admissions here have been on the rise. Parents who cannot afford high fee are diverted to Nalanda toddlers, which has branches in five different places in the city. “This academic year, the number of students touched 100,” says Nageswari.

The local franchise of Kinderpillar Ivy League Kids in Governorpet near Pushpa hotel centre has managed to attract a reasonably good number of students even before the institution completed one year. Started in June last year, the school has 30 tiny-tots who come from as far as Tadepalli and even Guntur.

Parents pay a monthly fee of Rs. 3,000.

“Ours is an American format schools where the entire focus is on brain-based methodology. We recognise the fact that every child has different levels of grasping power, and we deal with them accordingly,” says Pragati Arun Paswani, head of the school. “Children here are categorised into toddlers, playschool, nursery, kindergarten and upper kindergarten. We also run a day care centre for children up to 10 years,” says Ms. Paswani.

Prescribed norms

“There are about 100 big and small play schools across the city. But only 10 to 12 of them maintain good standards, adhering to the prescribed norms,” says P. Murali, Secretary Common Examination Board, Krishna district.