Obnoxious demand by schools !

this is a letter from a frustrated parent to the school which has tested their patients for years. sigh!!

Sub: Ill treatment of children, unconscionable tuition fees, transaction fees, late fees etc.

1. We the undersigned parents of Class XII of Bala Vidya Mandir are deeply disturbed by the events of 30th March, 2015 wherein several students were sent out of the school abruptly and without intimation to the parents for the reason that the term fees were not paid. The children were asked to leave the school premises and come back only after paying the fees.

2. We are pained to state that one such girl student who was asked to leave was found standing outside the gate crying. When another parent who happened to know the child enquired with her as to why she was out and crying , she explained that she was asked to go home because her fees were not paid. She informed that her father who had recently under gone a heart surgery was abroad at work and suffered some post operative complications as a result of which her mother joined him and both her parents were away and she was staying with her aunt who was also a teacher. She had nowhere to go and had no transport. She called her brother who incidentally is an old student of this school. The girl student herself has been in this school from LKG. The parents who saw the child took her to the Vice Principal who was courteous but said that she was helpless as it was a ‘management’ decision. The parents wanted to meet the Principal but he was not available. When the parents insisted that they would then meet the ‘management’ they were guided to the ‘corporate office’ located in the school premises. After waiting for a while they were asked to once again meet the Vice Principal. On meeting the Vice Principal, they were asked to come back in the evening to meet the Principal and the school would call and intimate the time of the appointment. A request was made once again at this juncture that the child may be permitted to attend the class as she was in XII std. The request was refused saying that it was ‘management’ decision and they were helpless.

3. Yet another student who was sent out had to frantically call his mother, who had to rush to school dropping everything and who to her deep distress found her son standing outside the office room as if he was an accused. The father of the student rushed from the airport and literally spent four hours in the school office trying to explain the problem he faced in making online payment. The parents paid the fees for their daughter who is in the same school but the NEFT transaction was not going through for the second payment for their son due to some technical glitch. Repeated emails to the school about the problem met with no response. When these parents met the Vice Principal, they were promised the help of the technical man to sort out the glitch but at the same time it was insisted that they pay the entire annual school fees (though generally one has the option to pay the first term fees alone) along with a late fee of Rs. 4000 at the rate of Rs. 500 for everyday’s delay.

4. Many of us have been associated with this school for several years and are really dismayed at this ill treatment of children. The children have been traumatized and humiliated for no fault of theirs. The school has the addresses, email ids and phone numbers of all parents. Any issue with regard to fees etc could have easily been sorted out by directly contacting the parents. Penalizing the children for this is simply not acceptable and we would like to express our deepest anguish and strong disapproval about the manner in which the school treated the students and parents.

5. In this context we would like to point out our deep disappointment at the manner in which the teachers caved in and failed to stand by the students who look up to them for succor and support next only to their parents. While we are conscious of the fact that teachers are paid employees and have their limitations and may have to abide by the orders of the management but when it comes to issues of the basic physical and emotional health and safety of the child we do expect them to stand by the children and protect them, no matter what the pressure or demands. Even if the management were insensitive, the teacher concerned could have been firm and refused to send the child out and could have easily called the parents and informed them. How will the children respect teachers who do not have the courage and conviction to stand by what is right?

6. There is another troubling aspect about the changed culture in the school. Earlier in respect of all issues concerning the child the class teacher always played a pivotal role. Class teachers generally could take decisions on many issues and the school generally respected the decision of the class teacher. Students also enjoyed good rapport with class teachers. By and large there was a very egalitarian and a student friendly atmosphere in the school. But in the recent past the children are constantly faced with the refrain “we are helpless, it is the decision of ‘higher ups’ or decision of the ‘management’ and we cannot do anything.” So from small issues such as segregation of boys and girls during picnics to larger issues of fee hikes students and parents are constantly hearing this refrain. There is an all pervading sense of fear and undercurrent running among the teachers. This is communicating to the students. Further, when the teachers and sometimes even the Principal tell us it is decision of ‘management’ and they are helpless, it undermines the authority of both the teachers and the office of the Principal. Children also feel insecure and rudderless as teachers whom they look up to tell them they are helpless. In this school it has always been the culture where all decision making was based entirely on the decision of the Principal, who in turn generally went by the advice of the teachers concerned. But today there is a predominant feeling that there is no point discussing or bringing any issue to the teachers or principal as they have no decision making powers. We as parents have noticed a palpable change in the priorities and culture of the school which is disturbing to say the least and does not augur well for continuity of the reputation and what the institution is known to stand for and for the well being of the children. Fees far in excess of the amount legally stipulated.

7. The school is well aware that the fees stipulated by the Schools Fee Determination Committee under the Tamilnadu Schools (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act, 2009, are equally applicable to CBSE schools. As per the information on the website of the school department the stipulated fee for 2014-15 was approximately Rs. 28,000. The school is collecting fees far in excess of the stipulated amounts. Periodically the burden on the parent is being increased at an alarming rate. There is no explanation or rational for this hike except for vague reasons such as VI pay commission and service tax. Even if the school were implementing the VI pay commission the figures add up to much more. The fees in our school are the highest among all comparable schools. There is an opaqueness about the process and the attitude of either take it or leave the school is again not something that we expect from any school and more so a school like BVM.

8. Compulsory online payment of fees is also causing a lot of hardships to parents. Not all parents may have such facilities. Moreover many parents found the website hanging or the transactions not going through or being told that fees was not paid when at their end they received notice that the transaction was through. When emails were sent to the school or phone calls made, the school staff were most unhelpful and unresponsive. Parents who opt to pay through credit card are having to pay an additional Rs. 400 as transaction fees and so online payment is in fact adding an additional financial burden on the parents. We request that online payments be made optional. Payments by cheques/ DD should also be accepted.

9.We are also shocked to learn that parents who have already been harassed on account of this issue are now being told that it is not sufficient to pay the first semester fees with fine but have to pay the entire years fees. This is amounts to further victimization and harassment.

10. The school has offered a separate stream called Meritus where coaching for IIT and other competitive exams is also supposed to be given. The fees for Meritus students is an additional Rs. 90,000 annually. The students who opted for Meritus in class XI have found that the teaching in Meritus classes is not up to the mark. These students are all once again having to avail of tuition s / private coaching outside. In the light of the poor quality of teaching and since there is no value addition in Meritus classes many students wanted to opt out of Meritus stream and join the regular stream in class XII. The school insisted that even if they opt out of the Meritus stream the annual fee of Rs. 90,000/- will have to be paid. In fact one of the students who has been prevented from attending classes is one such student who paid the Meritus fee of Rs. 90,000. So the student who paid Rs. 90,000 is now being asked to pay the total annual school fees of another Rs. 68,000 and a late fee of Rs. 4000 and is also being prevented from attending classes!

11. Many parents who faced problems in making the online payments were also faced with having to shell out several thousand rupees by way of late payment fee of Rs. 500 per day. Firstly, it is not fair that parents be penalized for the inefficiency of the service provider. Secondly, the late fee is more onerous than the penal interest imposed by credit card companies!

12. We are constrained to point out that with every passing year the teaching standards have been falling. Every child is forced to attend tuition classes for literally every subject on account of the fact that the school teachers are not able to communicate effectively the concepts or cover portions in time. Though the school says that it is sufficient if the child pays attention in class and tuition s are not required, in actuality the child cannot be prepared for Board exams without private coaching. We find that parents who took that advice had to quickly change their mind as children invariably complained that the teaching in the school is not effective. The special classes held after school hours are no different. We as parents are not opting for tuition s because it is a fad but because we are left with no options. It is proving to be a great burden on the child as well as on the parents.

13. The issues raised here are reflecting the angst of most parents and we hope that it is received in the spirit it is being told. The intention is not to ‘confront’ but to highlight issues which are being discussed and debated by parents and teachers alike. Very often there is hesitation on the part of every parent to state all this upfront for fear of their children being victimized or earning the displeasure of the ‘management’. However we felt that things were going too far and if we as parents do not voice our concern we will be failing in our duty as parents and as responsible citizens