Education
How schools fleece unsuspecting parents
At present schools across the country have come up with the system where everything needed for the new academic year has to be purchased from the school itself. Parents are intimated about the yearly and book fees at the end of the term.
The steep increase in education costs and facilities being provided is a constant worry for parents across the globe.
The summer months….Aaaahhhh!!!! Bliss for every kid I know. As parents we sit and complain about the heat of March, April and May and look forward to the rainy season. But not kids, who know that this is a time of pure joy. Of school holidays, ice-creams, playing throughout the day and vacationing. Can things get any better in the minds of these little ones? Absolutely not.
What about us parents? These are the months where we break our heads wondering how to keep the little devils busy so they don’t blow up the house with their mischief. But the biggest worry of them all is that it is time for us to empty our pockets for the new academic year yet again.
The school system has changed over a period of time. During our schooling days, you will agree, our parents paid a nominal school fee, we were then handed out a list of things that needed to be bought for the next academic year. Books, stationery, uniforms, shoes, socks, ties, school bags were a few we kept in mind.
At present schools across the country have come up with the system where everything needed for the new academic year has to be purchased from the school itself. Parents are intimated about the yearly and book fees at the end of the term. A cheque or a demand draft is sent, and on receiving the same a coupon is provided to the child which needs to be presented during the final “Parent teacher meeting”.
On arrival at the designated class for the meeting parents see rows of neatly arranged bags with the school’s logo printed on it. After meeting with the teacher and a few words of wisdom imparted to the children, it is time to stand in line holding our coupons to collect one of these bags. Upon opening one finds a neat stack of books, cd’s stuck at the back of each book (I still have no clue as to what are on those CD’s though it has been 5 years my son has started going to regular school), packs of pencils, erasers, sharpners, colour pencils, paints and get this brown paper cover that feels like wax paper with the fancy logo of the school all pre-cut and ready to be taken home and wrap the books with(which no doubt our children will pull off or rip them somewhere by the end of the first week of school).
At present schools across the country have come up with the system where everything needed for the new academic year has to be purchased from the school itself.
Next come the uniforms. Schools either have a very hassled looking tailor whom comes to school and painstakingly measures each child or better still they have a little shop on the school campus that sells uniforms in every size possible (It’s just like going to the mall to pick up your favourite pair of jeans). You enter the shop the attendee looks at your child top to bottom for a few seconds and voila! The uniforms appear just like that a tad too big (which we are assured by the attendee that it is better that way, growing kids and all). Then the ties, shoes (Adidas or Reebok no less), jackets, half sleeve sweaters, full sleeve sweaters, caps, etc. By the time they fill these into a bag, we are emptying our wallets.
Schools now have an array of extra-curricular activities that parents can opt from. Parents can enroll their children in any of the activities like swimming, karate, dance, art, etc. for an extra fee. Some of the extra activities are made compulsory whether the child has any interest or not. My son’s school has something called CCA (Co- curriculum activity) on Monday’s and Hobby classes on Friday’s. Parent’s on the whole see no point of these classes as we feel it’s just a waste of time and materials. Oh! I forgot to mention, the materials required for these classes have to be sent by us. Overnight parents are expected to provide the child a pot with a planted seed or thick card paper with ‘decorative item’ (what is that?) for mask making classes, a sock with wool and googly eyes to make sock puppets (so much of wisdom coming from these activities).
A regular school in a cosmopolitan city will have a base fee of nothing less than Rs. 75,000 per annum, and with the extra special classes, uniforms, books and activities, we end up spending over a lakh. Parents are now worried even about the admission procedure. Most parents want their children to be in a well-established school. But people from middle class and other lower income groups are finding it more and more difficult to cope with the increase in the fee structure. Every year with new admissions there is a huge donation that needs to be paid to the school (registration fee according to the school) a one-time fee that is non- refundable and is apart from the yearly school fees. Parents are forced to look for alternative sources of income to make sure that there are no hitches while catering to their child’s needs during the academic year.
A basic education just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need to make sure that we pay for some or maybe all of these extra classes that are offered so that our kids don’t miss out. As many as 25% of students across the country were reported to be taking private tuition classes and private coaching accounted for 15% of the average total expenditure on general education.
Moreover both parents are opting to go out and get jobs because one bread winner in the family just won’t do. Parents can’t just think of school, they have other priorities as well. Like the house rent or home EMIs, grocery, fuel, electricity bills etc. Our grandparents had a minimum of 7 kids and managed to educate each one of them. How? We ask. But we must realize that those were the times when things were of quality and everything was not about money. With the steady increase in prices for EVERYTHING, it is getting more and more ridiculous when schools come out with their yearly fee structures. Having one child puts us parents through such a difficult time simply to ensure that we provide them a sound footing for the future that parents are already reconsidering having a second child (finally a way to control population).
A basic education just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need to make sure that we pay for some or maybe all of these extra classes that are offered so that our kids don’t miss out. From picnics to exchange programs that are now all the rage in schools. Parents please make sure that you plan well ahead of schedule or maybe even have a huge education fund even before having a child as we’ll need to soon count every rupee we spend to make sure that they don’t miss out on anything.
Parents like me, where one day just runs into the next all that we can look forward to is panic and a few more greys in our hair till the day comes when we are done with educating our children. Till then Cheers to the process of education.
Infographic courtesy – TomorrowMakers
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