CBSE schools will let parents have a say in fee, admission

At a time when parents are miffed by the “dictatorial” attitude of school managements, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is all set to give more teeth to parents’ associations.

The latest move is the brainchild of CBSE chairperson Vineet Joshi, aimed at involving parents in core issues of the schools’ administration including controversial fee hike and admission procedures.

The board has recently asked all its affiliated-schools to strengthen its parents’ body. According to sources at CBSE, the board has received several complaints from across the country that most schools hold the institution’s administration’s meeting with parents only once or twice a year.

“Most schools have parents’ associations only for namesake. We want to make parents’ bodies active and more participatory in schools’ daily activities. We want parents to have a strong say in schools’ administration,” said Joshi.
“In the wake of reforms brought in by CBSE, it is but imperative that complete transparency is maintained and open communication channels are followed with the parent’s body by the school,” said an official of CBSE.

The official added that the board has also initiated interaction with parents in workshops in various cities where other programmes are also organised simultaneously.

“We hope that all the schools will initiate many more workshops with their own parent communities,” he said.

Though several schools in the city have welcomed the move, they have also expressed apprehension in opening its doors to parents to discuss internal administrative works.

“Schools should have their autonomy and cannot let parents interfere in its internal works. We are welcome to suggestions from one and all. Parents play a vital role in our school’s functioning, but that does not mean parents will start making decisions on behalf of schools,” said a principal of a reputed school in Bangalore on condition of anonymity.

However, parents of school-going children in the city, who have long been demanding a say in the core issues of schools’ administration, could not agree better with CBSE’s views. In the past few years, several Bangalore schools have witnessed exorbitant rise in annual fee structures.

“Every year, schools increase their fee structure. Most of the time, a fee hike is almost between 50-100%. Schools never bother to tell us the reason behind abnormal fee hikes. Most of the parents, in the hope of providing good education to children, follow schools’ diktats without asking them a question,” said Pooja S, mother of a student.

Recently, parents bodies associated with various schools of Karnataka got a huge relief when the Karnataka high court held that schools affiliated to CBSE and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education in the state come under the ambit of the Karnataka Education Act, 1988, in matters relating to hike in fees, thus putting a stop to exorbitant fees.