Parents of some students studying in Sishya School, OMR, are upset over the hike in tuition fee. It has not only “steeply hiked” the fee but has also asked parents to pay by February. The 900-strong school follows the ICSE syllabus.
On Thursday, the management held a meeting with around 150 parents. “They asked us to pay the fee for next year in advance,” said a parent.
Another parent whose two children are studying in the school, said the management was “adamant” about the fee hike. “Some parents wanted the fee payment to be pushed to April as is done every year. But the management wants us to pay up by February. Earlier, we paid the fee in three terms, now it is to be done in two terms,” she said.
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Steep hike
According to her, until last year, the fee hike was marginal.
“Last year there was a steep hike. The school management said it was because of GST and that it would not increase the fee next year. But this year the hike is steeper,” she added.
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School correspondent R. Srinivasan told The Hindu that the institution had to manage expenses and retain teachers to give quality education.
Since the school was associated with Sishya, Adyar, and is run by a Trust, it was constrained to follow the norms set by the parent school, he added.
“We were not able to anticipate the impact of GST on our working capital. When the government implements Pay Commission revisions we have to ensure attractive salaries are paid to the teachers to retain them. As much as 60% of the expenses go towards salary,” Mr. Srinivasan explained.