KendriyaVidyalayas across the country have hiked their fee by more than 60%

Updated on: Thursday, March 28, 2013

KendriyaVidyalayas across the country have hiked their fee by more than 60%. Many parents said it was a substantial increase, but that they didn't mind paying for the facilities offered. The last fee hike was in 2009.

In a recent notification, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) said the computer fund and Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi would be doubled from the next academic year, taking the monthly fee for a Class 10 student from Rs 490 to Rs 800. There is no change in tuition fee. The revised fee for the 11 lakh KV students across the country will come into effect from April 1.

A recent KVS notification said the proposal to enhance the fee was placed before the meeting of the board of governors on December 28, 2012 and also brought to the notice of the minister for human resource development and KVS chairman Pallam Raju, who approved it.

The fee collected is used to maintain school campus and to provide student amenities, said KVS (Chennai) officials. KVs are provided good information and communication technology (ICT) facilities, but such equipment has a life span of 3-5 years. After that it either becomes obsolete or useless, said N R Murali, deputy commissioner, KVS (Chennai).

"To be on a par with other schools we must keep updating our equipment. KVs have the best students for such a large chain of schools and we want to provide good facilities for them," he said.

He said they had received no complaints about the fee increase so far and that at the local level there were certain provisions to allow concessions for those finding it difficult to pay the fee. "Parents of most KV students are government employees who can get the amount reimbursed," he said.

Children from BPL families and children with disabilities are exempted from paying both tuition fee and VVN contribution. Girls in Classes 6 to 12, who are the only child in the family, are exempt from paying tuition fee, computer fund and VVN contribution. In case of financial difficulties, a student can get exemption from paying VVN contribution for one academic session.

Some parents said the new fee would burn a hole in their pockets. "When you think of it as an increase of Rs 310 a month it looks like a small amount, but it does pinch when you pay the term fees. It is an increase of a few thousand rupees and we have to account for it in the household budget," said a parent, who is a librarian in a private school.

Another parent, with two children, said, "It is a substantial increase, but it is still much lesser than what other CBSE schools in the area charge for providing the same or lesser facilities."

KendriyaVidyalayas across the country have hiked their fee by more than 60%

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