more-in Schools are only half way into the current academic year, but that hasn’t stopped them from starting admissions for the 2019-20 academic year. More than 12 private schools have already initiated the process, but they are not complying with the fee structure policy stipulated by the Government of Karnataka. However, a majority of parents who are determined to obtain seats for their children in some of the sought-after schools in the city, are willing to cough up the huge sum — anywhere between ?80,000 to ?2 lakh for the year, for fear that they will lose the seat if they question the management. In May 2018, the State government notified the new fee structure policy that capped the amount schools could charge. At the time, managements had said that they would follow the new fee structure policy for the 2019-20 academic year as admissions for 2018-19 were already completed. Suchitra S., who has already applied to several CBSE and ICSE schools in South East Bengaluru for her six-year-old daughter, said: “When we question the school managements on the fee break-up and ask them if they are following the regulations, they simply say that it is not applicable to them,” she said. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is yet to announce the calendar of events that would be applicable to all schools, including CBSE and ICSE. As per rules, admission for the 2019-20 academic year should begin only after 25% of the seats reserved under the Right to Education quota are filled. “Admissions done before the announcement of calendar of events would be considered illegal. We will direct schools that are doing so to cancel these admissions,” said an official. If a school is found guilty of charging excess fees, it can be penalised up to ?10 lakh. However, parents will have to come forward and submit complaints to the District Education Regulatory Authority. And this is something most are reluctant to do. One parent, who had a similar experience as Ms. Suchitra, said she was afraid to lodge a complaint as she didn’t want to take risk of her child being denied admission. “We are scared to complain against the school. We hope the government conducts enquiries,” said the parent, who did not wish to be named. As per the new fee structure, besides recurring costs, school managements are allowed to charge an additional fee that differs based on the location — ranging from 70% of the recurring fee in gram panchayat and town panchayat limits to about 100% in BBMP areas. The rules also stipulate that school managements are not allowed to hike fees by more than 15% from the previous academic year. Schools have started issuing application forms for nursery and class 1 since the end of September.

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