school management does not demand any deposit but paying this huge amount on a quarterly basis is proving difficult for many," said a parent of a student on condition of anonymity.
"Their intention is not to serve the educational needs of children but to mint money," another parent said. The school building is still under construction and the educational institution was inaugurated only a year back. Parents say the school is yet to develop any facilities to boast of but is drawing huge amount of fees to recover the construction costs.
One of the parents said, "The school does not have even good libraries or laboratories. The playground is nowhere to be seen. On what basis are they charging such high fees?"
The only CBSE school in the node, parents have few options to choose from. While the other state board schools in Kamothe are cheaper, the quality of education is not good. "When we approached the principal, he simply said that we are free to admit our wards in any other school. The problem is travelling to Kharghar will only add to our costs so we are left with no choice but to comply," another parent said.
Many who have moved to the node recently are reeling under the pressure of home loans and do not find the fees affordable at all. The school Principal Prashant Bukhaware, however, defended the management's stance, saying, "Compared to other CBSE schools, we are charging much less. We are the only school which offers basic IIT coaching and Abacus education. The playground will be ready soon. Parents compare our fees to SSC schools but compared to CBSE schools, we don't charge much. We have more teachers and have to pay higher salaries. Also, we don't accept any donations."