Parents write to CM over Hyderabad Public School fee hike
HYDERABAD: Members of the Hyderabad Public School Parents Association have written to chief minister A Revanth Reddy, alleging that the Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramanthapur, has increased fees by over 140% in the last four to five years and seeking a freeze on any further hikes for the next three years.
In a letter sent to education department officials in the first week of January, which came to light on Wednesday, parents alleged that the school has been unilaterally increasing fees despite making little improvement to campus infrastructure and facilities.
“We are extremely disappointed with the consistent fee hikes imposed over the past five years,” the letter stated. It alleged that the school was failing to provide adequate educational standards, sufficient sports opportunities and basic medical facilities. Parents also complained about food safety issues, claiming that students had repeatedly found hair, insects, nails and cockroaches in meals served on campus.
The letter further alleged that parents were being financially exploited through fee hikes justified on the promise of new buildings and enhanced infrastructure, without any visible evidence of such developments.
A member of the parents association told that at least 50% of parents have not paid the third-term fees. “Until the school assures that there will be no fee hikes for the next three years and establishes a parent-teacher association, we have decided not to pay the third-term fees,” the member said.
Parents also alleged that the management was humiliating students whose fees had not been paid and asking parents to take transfer certificates if they were unwilling to pay the revised amounts.
According to parents, the annual fee for Class 1 has increased from ₹93,630 in the 2020–21 academic year to ₹2 lakh in the current academic year. During the same period, the fee for Class 10 rose from ₹1.1 lakh to ₹1.8 lakh, while Class 12 fees increased from ₹1.3 lakh to ₹2.08 lakh.
Responding to the allegations, HPS Ramanthapur principal S Narsimha Reddy said the fees were reasonable given the facilities offered. “Ours is a 40-acre campus. It is not appropriate to compare our fees with those of smaller schools and describe them as high,” he said. He added that while a parent-teacher association exists, it is not currently active, and a new PTA would be formed in March.
