Karnataka Private School Managements Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff Co-Ordination Committee (KPMTCC) on Thursday, April 6, announced that the school fees for the coming academic year will not be hiked over 10-15%.
In a press conference held in the city, the convener of KPMTCC Shashikumar D asserted there was a provision to increase the annual school fee upto 15% as per an order passed by the Department of School Education and Literacy.
Shashikumar said that the private schools in Karnataka approached the High Court to ensure that schools had the freedom to design a fee structure that was based on the culture of the school. He added that the High Court ruled in their favour and has directed the state government not to intervene the freedom of the schools to manage their business. Shashikumar also said asserted, “This freedom comes with a lot of responsibilities. We should realise that we are philanthropic in nature.”
During the press conference, the KPMTCC also acknowledged that schools misuse this freedom to determine their fee structure without government interference noting that the committee does not appreciate the schools that “exploit parents” by increasing fees to an extent that is beyond unreasonable.
The association also called on parents to bring the fee hikes to their notice if they tend to disagree with it and believe it to be unreasonable. “Parents have all the rights to disagree with the rise in fee hikes,” Shashikumar stated
On January 5, the Karnataka High Court passed an order saying that the state government cannot intervene in the fee structure of a private school in the state. However, according to a Times of India report, private schools have been hiking their fees up by almost 40% after the High Court order. Parents of the student in these schools have been protesting against the fee hike as most of them were forced to pay at least Rs 50,000 more than the existing fee structure.