Over 60% of parents report schools hiking fees for online classes: survey

About 63% of parents in urban and semi-urban locations in India said that the private schools their children attend have increased fees even though all class sessions are online.

Many parents have raised questions about schools still charging for facilities that are no longer provided to the students due to the pandemic. School managements are arguing the increase in digital costs in taking online classes and equipping teachers are the reason behind it.

A survey by Local Circles found that a series of complaints from parents regarding tuition fees has been filed in the past month. The platform collected over 26,000 responses from parents in 302 districts of India for the survey.

The Supreme Court ruled in May 2021 that schools must reduce fees by 15%. The verdict called the collection of this amount "a case of profiteering and commercialisation by school management". 33% of parents said that the schools attended by their children increased fees by over 20%, said The News Minute Report.

The court had also said that school management is not permitted to de-bar students from attending classes or withhold results in case of failure to pay the fees. 65% of parents said that their state government has not done anything at all or anything effective to regulate hiking school fees during the pandemic.

Since the schools started conducting classes online, the expenditure has been reduced notably. Electricity, maintenance, equipment usage, contract staff like guards, and housekeeping are some of the areas that schools managements are saving money, said the LocalCircles report.