The resumption of offline classes is burning a hole in the pockets of parents of school-going children, a significant increase in transport charges, which have been hiked by several schools in Delhi-NCR by as much as 30 per cent.
While parents said that schools consider it an additional source of income, some principals said they could not help it as “diesel prices have gone up a lot. Delhi Parents Association (DPA) president Aparajita Gautam said that many schools are doubling or tripling the transport fee as they see it as a source of additional income.
“Now, parents are using other options like car pooling or private cabs instead of opting for this ineffective option, as the transport charges are putting a financial burden on the already suffering middle class,” she said.
Many parents claimed that schools were not charging any transport fee when classes were online in the wake of the pandemic, but now that offline classes have resumed, the fee is much higher than the pre-lockdown rates.
“Schools are saying that the transportation cost has gone up and they are helpless but what can parents do. My wife is also working so we cannot drop the kids ourselves and school transport is the safest option, but now it is a high cost,” said Rudra Dutt. However, he did not want to disclose the name of the school. He denied that his two children go. Rishu Dhingra Another parent from Gurgaon said, “Schools have increased the transportation cost in the form of private transporters. What option do parents have? Also, the schools have not increased the tuition fees in the last two years and will continue to do so.”
The principal of a top private school, on the condition of anonymity, said that “diesel prices have gone up a lot and we have had several rounds of talks with transporters who have refused to match the earlier prices”.
Another top private school principal said, “The situation has changed drastically in the last two years, both in terms of supply chain and economic viability. It is not fair to expect the same prices from the transporters especially in view of the exorbitant prices. We also understand the concerns of the parents, but we have tried to keep the hike as low as possible.”
Schools in Delhi-NCR were closed in March 2020 ahead of the nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus. While schools reopened later in phases, children had to attend offline classes only with parental consent. “I did not send my child because schools were not providing transport as not many children were coming so it was not financially possible to send buses for some children. Now that the online shutdown has been suspended, transportation is being provided, but the prices have become really high,” said Dwarka resident Saransh Sharma.
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