UP govt's allows 5% fees hike for private schools, Parents react

Greater Noida: During the Covid pandemic crisis, the Uttar Pradesh government had forbidden private schools from raising their tuition fees. Now, the Uttar Pradesh government has eased the restriction allowing private schools will be able to raise about 5 per cent of the tuition fees for this academic year (2022-23).

Parents from Greater Noida are not happy with this decision of the government. The parents are worried as the losses incurred during the pandemic have not yet fully recovered for many of them. The fee hike has become a big problem after the recent inflation.

As per the parents, the schools were closed for the last two years. The maintenance cost of the schools was also low but schools had charged the full amount of fees. Moreover, they point out that parents had to bear the additional cost of purchasing laptops and mobile and installing internet service for the online classes.

Sukhpal Singh Toor, President of Parents Welfare Society, Gautam Buddha Nagar, says, “Petrol and CNG prices are increasing day by day, and now school fees. In all of this middle-class people are suffering. This is not acceptable. Why did the Uttar Pradesh government have to allow the hike the school fees hike? All parents are worried."

Vikas Katiyar,

Vice President NEFOWA says, “First Petrol and Diesel, now school fees. The Uttar Pradesh government should rethink this decision and should take it back in the favor of parents. 90 percent of schools in Noida have already raised their fees after this decision.”

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Ranjana Bhardwaj,

resident of Ecovillage 1 says, “Private schools seem to be running a business. They were already taking such high fees, and now they would increase it further. Moreover, they earn from uniforms, books, and notebooks as the parents are forced to purchase from the school itself. Even the transport fees are a lot for small distances. While inflation is increasing, all increments have been static in the private sector."

Anupam Mishra,

a parent from Ecovillage-2 says, “We are not in favour of any fee hike. Already, middle-class families are facing the issue of inflation. The last two years have been good years for the schools. They could cut down the cost of running the school and extracurricular activities. Schools did not give relaxation in fees.”