Parents protest against school fee hike

PUNE: The Sinhgad Springdale School Parents' Association has organised a protest march on February 24, against the fee hike which works out to almost 50 per cent over the last two years for the six schools under the aegis of the Sinhgad Technical Education Society.
The association's demands include withdrawal of the fee hike for 2011-12, and a facility to make payments by installments.The 4,500-strong parents' association was formed to protest the fee hike, which the parents claimed was taken in a management decision sans any discussion with them.
"The morcha has been organised on the backdrop of the management's refusal to engage in a dialogue with us over the hike," Shivabhau Pasalkar, president of the association, said while addressing a news conference here on Monday. "This is not the first time the fee has been hiked. For the academic year 2010-11, it was hiked by 22 percent for all levels. (There are are three fee slab structures: pre-primary to primary; primary to secondary and secondary to higher secondary.) On Dec 6, 2010, we were once again informed of a fee hike for the academic year 2011-12, through a school notification. This works out to a hike of almost 50 per cent over the last two years. No explanation was given; we were simply told that we had until April-end to make the payment for the forthcoming academic year of 2011-12," he said.
Arvind Deshpande, registrar for the Sinhgad Technical Education Society, told TOI: "The fee hike is mainly due to the implementation of the salary structure for both our teaching and non-teaching staff as per the provisions of the sixth pay commission from 2010 onwards. This has increased the salaries by over 50 per cent, hence the increase in fees. The parents of our students have supported and trusted us so far, and we are confident that they will do so in future as well."
However, Pasalkar said no official explanation had been given to the parents by the school management.
The morcha, which will begin at 9 am from Sun City road and pass through Sunorbit Society, Santosh Hall, Manikbaug, Vadgaon Budruk via Navle lawns, will conclude at Sinhgad Springdale School, Narhe.
The schools run by the Sinhgad Technical Education Society include: Sinhgad Springdale Schools in Narhe, Vadgaon and Erandwane; the Sinhgad City School Kondhwa and Pavangandhi Sinhgad Springdale School, Pirangut.