Capitation fees in disguise must end in schools

I harbour no grudge against schools preening on their ‘elite’ tag if they were to impart education worthy of the purported stamp.

Solely for this reason, I have no hassles in paying up an annual fee which is a bit steep. I have always believed that standard education cannot be had at sub-standard fees.

What, however, I do hold against them is the nasty (and I haven’t a twitch of conscience in using that word) contrivance in extracting capitation fee which one has to pay in order to seek admission to an elite school.

In this vein, the Bombay High Court’s notices to the chief minister and education minister over a PIL against capitation
fee in Mumbai’s schools become significant.

More so, because schools have now found a way to steer clear of the Prohibition of Capitation Fee Act. They are now charging fees, obviously exorbitant, under non-prescribed heads, clearly in violation of rules but cocooned in innocuousness with annual fee now ranging between Rs6 lakh and Rs14 lakh.

Some schools, particularly on the Western suburbs charge huge admission fee ranging from Rs50,000 to Rs2 lakh, security deposit of Rs50,000 to Rs2.5 lakh and under the head ‘other fees’, an additional Rs30,000 to Rs80,000. Ironically, there is no explanation for ‘other fees’

Cunning, they say, knows many a dodge. Tell me, what sanctity would you bestow upon non-definable categories like admission fee, caution money and impress money? Isn’t that another way of wrenching out capitation fee?

Splendid though the garb may be, it’s not difficult to see through the con. Why, as a parent, should I foot the bill for, say, upgrading-fee for upgrading a school? If a school needs extra laboratory beakers, or more computers, or more buses, is the investment my worry? It is, if the schools are to be believed.

This is stretching the good-money-for-good-education too far, really. Well, it’s the judicial growl that’s come to our rescue again when actually, it should have been the parents who should have marshalled their forces to file FIRs against such schools or the state education department that should have acted on their behalf.

Sadly, both have shied away from doing so. Until the high court decided to wield the baton, that is. It’s time to join hands and end this ‘elitist’ arbitrariness before such self-labelled ‘international’ schools catapult the fees to the next level.