Parents urge Telangana govt. to bring in school and junior college fees regulation Act

Parents struggle with high private school fees, hoping for government intervention to regulate fees and ease financial burden.

As another academic year is set to begin, parents who are already repaying loans along with interest taken to pay school and junior college fees, are preparing to mop up money again. “When my first child was in Upper Kindergarten, the fees per annum at a private school was ₹32,000, which increased to ₹38,000 the next year. We also had to pay ₹5,000 more for books, uniform and other expenses,” says Muzzamil Khan from Hyderabad who spent nearly ₹1.5 lakh per annum on school fees for his three children in 2024. An amount that is nearly 40% of his annual income. 

Other parents, burdened similarly by hefty fees of private schools, are looking at the State government move to regulate fees of private schools and junior colleges with hope. The Telangana Education Commission has submitted a draft bill to regulate school and junior college fees. The parents hope that the State government will bring in the Act at the earliest so that families like them and those from poorer backgrounds can recover financially.

A parent, Trivikram from Hyderabad, says his salary is never enough to pay the school fees of his two children. He chuckled when asked how he is managing finances. While the fee is ₹2 lakh for his elder child in ninth standard, it is ₹45,000 for the younger child in fifth standard. He recalled having taken hand loans, and asked friends for financial help. “But how many people can help in such situations? I have to live with this until my son and daughter complete their education and settle down in good jobs. I don’t want them to feel that their parents neglected them in providing education,” he said. 

Mr. Khan reels out the math done earlier to explain how the family would have benefitted if government schools offered better infrastructure and other resources. “Had I saved ₹1.5 lakh per annum, we would have had more financial freedom, spent it on buying other resources for children and other family members,” said Mr. Khan. 

Besides the regular school fees, parents dread whenever an event is held at school. Another parent, Niveditha, who too continues to repay loans taken earlier, said that she had to shell out over ₹8,000 for a farewell event held at her child’s school. “The children have to participate in at least one programme, which needs customised dress, props. Shouldn’t participation in such programmes be voluntary? And the school does not provide us with an expense sheet,” said Ms. Niveditha. 

She said that school management provides study material, books only after paying the fee. The resources should not be bought outside is the mandate. “If the fees are not paid, teachers constantly remind the children that they could learn if they had the study material,” she said. 

(*Names changes to protect identity)