The Birla Public School has hiked the tuition as well as transportation fee by 10%. The increase is in effect from this academic year that started in April.
A school circular received by the parent of a sixth standard student has sought payment of the first term differential of QR240 and QR65 for the tuition and transportation fee respectively either with the second term fees or immediately.
The circular says: “The fees and transport costs payable for academic year 2015-16 have been revised. The SEC took notice of the financial load on the school vis-a-vis our performance and has approved the revision of fees.”
The circular points to the steep increase in expenditure incurred by the school. “Against the backdrop of steeply rising expenses relating to rentals, salaries, operating costs and servicing of loan by the school, we are nevertheless continuously improving our services, infrastructure as well as the profile of our faculty. All these increase our operating costs exponentially.”
However, several parents of the school pointed out that it was a heavy burden on them as they felt that the hike was too high. They also maintained that it was a double blow as both the tuition and transportation fees have been hiked.
One of the parents said that the hike had come as a bolt from the blue as several parents like him had been struggling to keep up with the rising expenses. He said: “For a parent like me who has to pay the fee of three children, it is a heavy burden which makes a huge impact on my monthly budget.”
According to him, the hike was not justified, as the current fee is already high.
Another parent describing the hike as unjustifiable said : “How can the school increase the transportation fees, when there has been no fuel hike or substantial increase in the price of any other related material?
“The school, as is the case with the other Indian schools in Qatar, pays poor salaries to the teachers and there has been no obvious reasons to justify a hike in fees,” he added .
