Vultures in Uniform: How Private Schools Are Preying on Parents’ Pain
By: Javid Amin
Srinagar 27 April 2025: Imagine sending your child to school, hoping to secure a bright future — only to realize that your child’s education has become a bargaining chip.
Today, many private schools — once seen as temples of learning — have morphed into profit-making machines. Parents are no longer treated as stakeholders; they are treated as ATM machines.
After raising monthly fees outrageously (without any consent), schools are now stooping to new lows:
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Withholding children’s results
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Blocking homework and class participation
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Refusing to check copies and assignments
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Mentally harassing both kids and parents
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Calling PTMs just to extort pending payments
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Forcing “Annual Charges” even when parents are withdrawing their children
This is not an isolated incident. It’s a nationwide crisis. And it’s time we talk about it — openly, honestly, and loudly.
The Current Reality: Education for Sale, Compassion Forgotten
The sacred bond between a teacher, student, and parent has been replaced by cold, corporate greed.
Today, in many prestigious schools, it doesn’t matter how talented a child is. What matters is whether their parents can pay on time — and pay EXTRA whenever demanded.
Common tactics now being used by schools:
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Fee hikes disguised as ‘upgrades’ (new building fund, technology fund, activity charges, security fee)
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Retrospective charges (Parents being asked to pay hikes applicable for the past year)
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PTMs turned into collection camps
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Children humiliated or excluded because of non-payment
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Threats of debarment from exams, results, or participation
Instead of nurturing children’s futures, schools are punishing children for their parents’ financial struggles.
This is not education.
This is extortion.
How Schools Manipulate the System:
1. Fee Hike Without Consultation
Parents often find out about fee hikes through casual notices — after the new term starts.
There’s no dialogue, no approval process, and no explanation.
Reality: Schools are legally required in many states to consult parent bodies before raising fees. Yet, most openly violate these rules.
2. Retroactive Fee Adjustments
Suddenly, parents are informed they owe extra payments for the previous year — because a hike has been backdated.
If they don’t pay, their child’s report card is blocked.
Reality: Retrospective hikes are illegal unless previously approved with clear notification.
3. Fake PTMs Just for Fee Collection
Parent-Teacher Meetings — meant to discuss a child’s progress — have turned into debt recovery sessions.
Parents are sometimes denied entry to PTMs if they have outstanding dues.
Reality: This humiliates the parent, shames the child, and destroys the trust in the education system.
4. Mental Harassment of Children
If dues are pending:
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Children are sidelined during activities.
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Homework is not assigned.
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Attendance is marked irregularly.
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Copies and projects are not evaluated.
Reality: It’s not the child’s fault — but they are made to suffer the most.
5. Annual Charges Before Exit
When families start considering pulling their children out due to financial strain, schools introduce yet another last-minute requirement—forcing them to clear annual charges before the month’s end. It feels like a strategic move to retain revenue at the expense of parents’ financial well-being.
This kind of pressure adds unnecessary stress, turning education—a fundamental right—into a financial battlefield. The lack of regulatory oversight and transparency makes it even worse. Schools should be fostering learning, not making parents feel trapped in a cycle of hidden costs and relentless demands.
Reality: No school can legally force payment for an entire academic year if the child is leaving midway.
Legal Violations: Schools Breaking Rules Openly
In several states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh, rules regarding fee regulation have been passed.
Schools cannot:
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Raise fees arbitrarily
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Withhold results
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Withhold Transfer Certificates
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Humiliate children for non-payment
Yet, enforcement is weak, and powerful school lobbies find ways to exploit loopholes.
The Real Victims: Parents and Children
The pressure is unbearable. Parents work multiple jobs, cut down daily expenses, and take loans to pay fees — only to be treated like defaulters when they fall behind.
Meanwhile, the emotional toll on children is catastrophic:
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Anxiety about being removed from school
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Fear of being shamed in front of peers
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Drop in academic performance
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Long-term trauma affecting confidence and growth
Where Are the Authorities?
Despite numerous complaints:
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Education Boards remain silent.
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Government officials delay action.
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Parent bodies are often powerless.
Why? The school lobby is powerful. Political donations, influence, and ‘management quotas’ create a web of corruption that makes genuine regulation difficult.
A History of Fee Hikes and Exploitation: A Timeline
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Early 2000s: Rise of “International” private schools, annual fee hikes start becoming routine.
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2010-2015: State governments begin drafting guidelines, but enforcement remains weak.
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Post 2020 (COVID Era): Schools demand full fees even during online classes; parents protest nationwide.
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2021-2023: Fee structures become more complicated — activity charges, maintenance charges, technology charges added.
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2024: Record number of complaints filed against unfair practices, but justice still slow.
Legal Stand: What the Law Says
According to various laws and guidelines:
- No school can withhold academic results or homework based on fee disputes.
- No child can be denied attendance or public services in the school.
- Fee structures must be transparent and approved by a regulatory authority.
- Transfer Certificates must be issued without coercion.
However, lack of enforcement and silent authorities allow schools to operate with impunity.
Voices of Resistance: Parents and Activists Rise
Across Kashmir, social groups, education activists, and concerned parents are now:
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Demanding urgent government intervention.
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Filing complaints with Directorate of Education and Child Rights Commission.
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Planning peaceful protests and media campaigns to expose unethical practices.
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Organizing legal aid camps to support exploited parents.
Call to Action: What Needs to Change
- Mandatory Financial Audits of private schools
- Strict Cap on Fee Hikes year-over-year
- Transparency in ‘Annual Charges’
- Strong Helpline for Parent Grievances
- Penalties on Schools for harassment and mental abuse
- New Regulations to safeguard children’s dignity and educational rights
What Can Parents Do? Your Rights
- You have the right to demand a fee breakup.
- You have the right to challenge illegal hikes in court.
- Schools cannot withhold your child’s results or certificates.
- Schools must issue Transfer Certificates promptly.
- No child can be discriminated against due to pending fees.
What Needs to Change?
1. Mandatory Government Audits of Private Schools
An independent audit of fee structures, expenditure, and profits should be done yearly.
2. Stricter Enforcement of Rules
Regulatory bodies must have power to fine, penalize, and de-recognize erring schools.
3. Helplines and Legal Aid for Parents
Parents need free legal aid and helplines to report harassment.
4. Public Name-and-Shame Campaigns
List of blacklisted schools must be public.
Education Must Remain a Sacred Duty, Not a Business
Schools are supposed to be second homes for our children — not corporate sharks hunting for profits. The commercialization of education is a betrayal — a betrayal of trust, of hope, of India’s future.
We owe it to our children to fight back. We owe it to our society to reclaim education from greed.
Bottom-Line: Rise Before It’s Too Late
The vultures will keep circling if we remain silent. It’s time parents, citizens, and leaders come together to say:
Enough is Enough.
Let’s demand:
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Transparency
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Compassion
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Accountability
For every child who dreams of a better tomorrow, let’s make today’s fight count.
Reclaiming Kashmir’s Soul – Education as Empowerment, Not Extortion
The valleys of Kashmir have endured decades of conflict, but the erosion of its education system strikes at the heart of its future. As one grandfather in Ganderbal lamented, “They’re stealing not just money, but our children’s dreams.” The time for collective action is now—before greed silences another generation.
