Schools in Delhi have been demanding an increase in their fees by a whopping 50 per cent. Also, the Sixth Pay Commission has ruled that teachers should get a 60 per cent raise. So, the schools say that to implement the raise, they need to charge parents more.
A committee will decide whether fee hike is ok by the end of November.
But the proposal for this dramatic hike couldn’t come at a worse time — middle class Delhi is already hit by volatile markets.
Lunch conversation at the Bagga house is now usually restricted to one topic — the expected hike in school fees. Both children are in Modern School, one of Delhi’s most expensive schools and the family is already stretched thin financially.
“It is going to be difficult. We have to see from where exactly the money would come. It’s so much a burden for a single earner in the family. I can’t even get a job at the age of 40. So, we have to cut down vacation and outings in the weekend. At a time when the economy is going down this is burden. My kids have stopped their extra curricular activities. Even for Diwali, we will not buy any gifts as the next fee we have to pay just after Diwali,” said Pranjali Bagga, a worried parent.
Schools have already asked the government for permission to increase their fees by 50 per cent. And if that is sanctioned, Pranjali will spend an extra Rs 12,000 per month on her children’s education.