Capital markets regulator SEBI said today that it will reform the initial public offer (IPO) process and ensure that disclosure norms are made effective as the Indian financial markets undergo radical reforms to become globally competitive.
“We are looking at every aspect. The basic aim is to curb volatility, particularly on the day of listing,” said Rajeev Agarwal, whole-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) while addressing an ASSOCHAM conference.
“We will follow strict disclosure norms to protect investors’ interests, create enabling environment so that financial firms become global and vigorously enforce corporate governance norms.”
He said the industry should make efforts to channelise more savings into capital markets to fund capital requirements of various sectors. Only 4.6 per cent of national savings are invested in capital markets.
The country needs investments of one trillion dollars to build infrastructure in the next five years. Agarwal said even pension funds can be invested as new products evolve and regulations are harmonised so that GDP growth of nine per cent can be maintained, the industrial body said in a statement.
Meanwhile, CS Mohapatra, director (secondary markets and UTI) at the finance ministry’s Department of Economic Affairs, said the government will remove regulatory overlaps to bring financial stability and take measures to boost corporate bond market.
However, industry leaders must take lead in reducing intermediation costs by introducing new technology and improving human infrastructure. “There is no reason to be pessimistic as India is showing second highest growth rates amid global economic gloom. There is need for next generation of reforms to increase inflows from foreign institutional investors.”
Nanda Kumar, senior vice-president of the National Stock Exchange, said the current global uncertainties pose challenges and opportunities for the Indian financial sector. The industry requires innovation, efficiencies, transparency and safety to bring back investors’ confidence.
RN Dhoot, president elect of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), said watershed structural reforms have taken place in the banking sector during 20 years of pro-active reforms.
“The time has come for consolidated efforts by all stakeholders for inclusive growth,” he said adding financial sector reforms can add significantly to economic growth and also make a significant contribution to the sustainability of this growth.
ASSOCHAM secretary general DS Rawat said the financial system’s ability to efficiently intermediate domestic and foreign capital into productive investment and to provide financial services to a vast majority of households will influence economic as well as social stability.
Rashesh Shah, chairman of ASSOCHAM National Council for Capital Markets, said Indian yearly savings total 500 billion dollars. The India growth story is in tact, he said, but four trends are worrisome. High inflation, rising interest rates, burgeoning fiscal deficit and the currency under pressure have led many to conclude that economic reforms are stuck for the moment.
Others present during the conference were Anil Agarwal, past president of ASSOCHAM, S.C. Agarwal, co-chairperson of ASSOCHAM National Council for Capital Markets, and Manish Kedia, director and head of debt practices at Resurgent India.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Disturbed Neighbours Make Us Disturbed
A weak and troubled neighbor is always hindrance to a country’s progress and peace. India, for instance, has such neighbours facing perennial internal strife. Be it Pakistan, Nepal or Sri Lanka, the problems in these countries have always had its impact on India. We lost a national leader to the internal squabbles of Sri Lanka; we lost a part of Kashmir and few thousands of lives due to Pakistan’s support to militancy in Kashmir; and about Nepal and Bangladesh, the influx of illegal immigrants causing social-economic problems besides posing serious threat to the safety and security of India.
Now, reports emanating from Pakistan suggest that the Islamic nation is moving towards a military coup. Pakistan's government looks dangerously isolated in a fresh confrontation with the country's powerful military that analysts say could, at the very least, end in early elections.
The army erupted in fury on Wednesday over criticism from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani concerning a commission probing the "Memogate" scandal -- the bizarre and highly controversial case of an unsigned memo sent to the US military to seek its help in weakening Pakistan's military.
The memo has pitted the army against President Asif Ali Zardari's weak civilian administration, and the Supreme Court is now tasked with deciding if the government endorsed the note, and if so, if it can remain in power.
Possibly as a last nail in the coffin, the government on Wednesday sacked the defence secretary Naeem Khalid Lodhi -- considered more loyal to the military (head) than to the civil leadership. The move has brought the fore the fear of yet another coup. Pakistan has been under military dictatorships for about half its history since independence in 1947, its civilian leaders thrown out in three coups.
The government has been cornered ever since the ‘mamogate’ surfaced and with Pakistan’s strong military and Supreme Court taking on the government separately, the survival of the Gilani’s civil government seems to be bleak. With political instability in Pakistan, India should be extra cautious as any military coup would make the military more powerful and bring their hands close to the weapons of mass destructions.
Now, reports emanating from Pakistan suggest that the Islamic nation is moving towards a military coup. Pakistan's government looks dangerously isolated in a fresh confrontation with the country's powerful military that analysts say could, at the very least, end in early elections.
The army erupted in fury on Wednesday over criticism from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani concerning a commission probing the "Memogate" scandal -- the bizarre and highly controversial case of an unsigned memo sent to the US military to seek its help in weakening Pakistan's military.
The memo has pitted the army against President Asif Ali Zardari's weak civilian administration, and the Supreme Court is now tasked with deciding if the government endorsed the note, and if so, if it can remain in power.
Possibly as a last nail in the coffin, the government on Wednesday sacked the defence secretary Naeem Khalid Lodhi -- considered more loyal to the military (head) than to the civil leadership. The move has brought the fore the fear of yet another coup. Pakistan has been under military dictatorships for about half its history since independence in 1947, its civilian leaders thrown out in three coups.
The government has been cornered ever since the ‘mamogate’ surfaced and with Pakistan’s strong military and Supreme Court taking on the government separately, the survival of the Gilani’s civil government seems to be bleak. With political instability in Pakistan, India should be extra cautious as any military coup would make the military more powerful and bring their hands close to the weapons of mass destructions.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tribal dance to shame!
Suddenly the sleepy and often discarded Indian island has come alive on Indian television channels, albeit for wrong reasons. Looking for meaty and glamorous issues, these TRP-hungry channels happily grabbed it with both hands.
Confused? The hot issue of the day is nothing but the reports published by print media and repeatedly aired and discussed by leading television channels about dancing of half-naked women and children to “entertain” the visiting tourists at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Piqued by the development, the Indian government on Wednesday asked the Andaman and Nicobar administration to explain how it allowed such ‘unsocial’ event to happen?
Terming the incident as "obnoxious and disgusting", tribal affairs minister KP Singh Deo said, "It ... cannot be pardoned. It deserves exemplary punishment.” Another minister cried for strict action against those responsible for the event.
The Guardian has posted on its website footage filmed by a tourist showing half-naked Jarawa women being told to dance for tourists by an off-camera police officer.
The website said the Jarawa tribe has lived in peace in the Andaman Islands for thousands of years but tour companies are now running safaris through their jungle. Wealthy tourists pay police to make the women - usually naked - dance for their amusement.
It’s bizarre to the core. The incident has exposed the local government, which has failed to stop such acts being happening under its nose for quite some time. It’s now that when media has highlighted the issue that everyone creating hue and cry of the incident. For long, these tribal people have been living in acute penury and lack of basic infrastructure, which the government has failed to provide as per the constitutional norms. They have been denied the basic needs and several places in the Islands have, till date, not received the compensation announced for the 2004 tsunami victims and damages.
Probably the acute penury might have forced the locals to agree to the tourists’ bizarre amusement needs. Instead of discussing at length on various platforms these tribal people should be rehabilitated and provided basic needs such as education, employment, food and shelter.
According to a Wikipedia update, Jarawa tribes are one of the adivasi indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands. Their present numbers are estimated at between 250-350 individuals. Since they have largely shunned interactions with outsiders, many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are poorly understood. Along with other indigenous Andamanese peoples, they have inhabited the islands for at least several thousand years.
There is some indication that the Jarawa community regarded the now-extinct Jangil tribe as a parent tribe from which they split centuries or millennia ago, even though the Jarawa outnumbered (and eventually out-survived) the Jangil. The Jangil (also called the Rutland Island Aka Bea) were presumed extinct by 1931.
So, the facts show that the community is on the verge of getting extinct. We already lost one tribal reference from the history and another one is in the offing. Hope for some light for these hapless people after this hullabaloo.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
In Ooty These Gods have No Visitors
Recently I had been to Ooty (Uthagamandalam). Apart from the normal places which we visited for two days, our friend took us to three religious places which tourists to the Queen of Hills couldn’t find it in any of the travel itineraries.
Our Hindu friend, who married to an amputated Christian girl after a stiff resistance from both the sides of families, took us first to a very old church, locally called “Kurusady” Church (St. Stephen's) in Kaandal area.
He told us that according to a local belief the church has a holy cross kept in a case which is believed to be made from a piece of wood used for crucification of Jesus Christ. Such pious atmosphere the Church has, the local populous come to this place and offer prayers. There is a belief that true prayers are generally answered by the Lord.
Our friend told his own love story, that how his fiancee lost her leg in an accident and the ordeals the couple had to undergo in fighting against the social acceptability from both the communities, to get married. The Church indeed was a major source of moral (he calls it divine) booster for the couple to get united.
From the main bus stand, one can get buses or autos to Kaandal and anyone would guide to this church from the bus stop. From the road one has to trek down in a narrow lane for one km to reach this beautiful church of historic relevance.
Another place which we visited was a temple situated just near to this church. It is a century-old Shiva temple. Legend goes that the temple, whose presiding deities are Kasi Vishwanath and Visalakshi was built by a temple sculptor after five generation of a local family failed to get “Shivalingam” sculpted for the temple. According to the temple priest, Shiva temples are generally built by rulers. Since the local family had no royal lineage, they faced a lot of divine hurdles to build the temple though they had enough funds to do so.
As the family members died one after another without accomplishing the task, the last one from the family, a woman saint, gave the responsibility to a temple sculptor before she passed away in 1884. Though reluctant, the sculptor, went to Kancheepuram to meet the then Shankaracharya.
He told the pontiff that he would acquire sin if he construct the temple as he was not from the royal family and if he did not do so, he would again get sin for failing to fulfill the vow he had taken up to build the temple. The pontiff asked the sculptor to go the Varanasi to have a holly dip in River Ganga to ward off any sin he inherits in this life. When the sculptor immersed himself at the Ganges he saw a Shivalingam beneath the water. When he took it to the Shankaracharya, the later asked him to keep it at the temple site and build a temple for Kasi Vishwanath.
The temple has a prayer hall which houses five shivalingams depicting the names of five of the family who were unsuccessful in building this temple. The place is apt for meditation.
The temple has not much visitors coming even during festival seasons, so no revenue, revealed the head priest, whose two sons are also working in this temple. Lack of funds forced the temple administration to postpone the consecration ceremony. My friend informed me that he married his (Christian) wife in this temple with the help of some true friends.
The third place, I can call it one of the wonders in Ooty apart from the scenic beauties, is a twin Ganesha temple. Like other two places, this place too wants public attention, and hence not much devotes flocking this temple. Only local people visit this temple during the festival seasons.
This temple is situated just 500 m from the main bus stand on the main road itself.
Save Water Today or be Sorry Tomorrow
As India celebrates her 63rd Independence Day on Saturday, the country, which boasts of one billion head count, still lacks the basic needs for people like Water, Power, Food etc. Since Water plays a major role in linking most of the basic amenities a man needs, due to short-sightedness of our successive governments, political unsteadiness, lack of political will to nationalize all major rivers and excessive usage of underground water many states are reeling under acute water shortage.
The words of famous Tamil patriotic poet Subramanya Bharati who once said, "Irrigate central land with rain water getting wasted in Bay of Bangal" are still relevant in the present day context. But who bothers? We conveniently forgot Bharati and his golden words too.
On one side, some states have faced flood situation in the months of May and June while other states cry for a drop of rain water. The funny side of the story is that while one part of Gujarat and Maharashtra had witnessed worst flood in the month of July, people from the respective states had to stand in queues for hours for a bucket-full of water.
The situation is not all the very different in states like Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Haryana.
While the Centre has decided to declare the 2009-10 seasonal year as drought-hit year, the question which comes to the mind of a common man is, what has happened to the excessive water which made people suffer in states like Maharashtra, Assam, Gujarat, et al and why these water had not been used to irrigate the fields and quench the thirst of people in the respective states?
When Chief Ministers are busy in opening up statues, they hardly find time to think about the problems of the common man. Take for example Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Mahawati has decided to declare more than half of the districts of UP as drought hit and asked the centre a draught relief millions of rupees. Now many states will follow the suit and centre too will dutifully dispatch the relief funds from its central pool, which is of course tax payers’ money.
Instead of finding a long lasting solution to the perennial problems like floods and drought, the governments give relief materials and money to the affected people year after year. All most every year parts of Tamil Nadu, face flood situation during the months of November and December. Every time the government provides essential commodities to the poor and also money to the worst hit families. Once the water recedes people would start colonizing the same area. No arrangements had been made to displace them or take measures to prevent flooding in a particular area year after year.
Had they spent the money to strengthen the infrastructure like construction of storage dams, diverting water which was going waste to the sea to the irrigating fields and generate more hydro-electric power plants near the dam sites etc, life wouldn’t have been difficult for the people.
Still the time is not lost. We shall make this happen in five years time provided the government amend rules to interconnect all major rivers in the country, speedy disposal of all water-related disputes pending in the designated courts across the country, make an expert panel comprising of intellectuals of respective fields to over see the equal water distribution to various terrains from North to South and West to East part of the country. Am I expecting too much folks?
The words of famous Tamil patriotic poet Subramanya Bharati who once said, "Irrigate central land with rain water getting wasted in Bay of Bangal" are still relevant in the present day context. But who bothers? We conveniently forgot Bharati and his golden words too.
On one side, some states have faced flood situation in the months of May and June while other states cry for a drop of rain water. The funny side of the story is that while one part of Gujarat and Maharashtra had witnessed worst flood in the month of July, people from the respective states had to stand in queues for hours for a bucket-full of water.
The situation is not all the very different in states like Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Haryana.
While the Centre has decided to declare the 2009-10 seasonal year as drought-hit year, the question which comes to the mind of a common man is, what has happened to the excessive water which made people suffer in states like Maharashtra, Assam, Gujarat, et al and why these water had not been used to irrigate the fields and quench the thirst of people in the respective states?
When Chief Ministers are busy in opening up statues, they hardly find time to think about the problems of the common man. Take for example Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Mahawati has decided to declare more than half of the districts of UP as drought hit and asked the centre a draught relief millions of rupees. Now many states will follow the suit and centre too will dutifully dispatch the relief funds from its central pool, which is of course tax payers’ money.
Instead of finding a long lasting solution to the perennial problems like floods and drought, the governments give relief materials and money to the affected people year after year. All most every year parts of Tamil Nadu, face flood situation during the months of November and December. Every time the government provides essential commodities to the poor and also money to the worst hit families. Once the water recedes people would start colonizing the same area. No arrangements had been made to displace them or take measures to prevent flooding in a particular area year after year.
Had they spent the money to strengthen the infrastructure like construction of storage dams, diverting water which was going waste to the sea to the irrigating fields and generate more hydro-electric power plants near the dam sites etc, life wouldn’t have been difficult for the people.
Still the time is not lost. We shall make this happen in five years time provided the government amend rules to interconnect all major rivers in the country, speedy disposal of all water-related disputes pending in the designated courts across the country, make an expert panel comprising of intellectuals of respective fields to over see the equal water distribution to various terrains from North to South and West to East part of the country. Am I expecting too much folks?
Dying for Leaders - Height of Madness!
K Ramanathan Iyer
It's very sad that Congress has lost one of its mass leaders. What is more pathetic and regrettable is that about 150 families had lost their dearest ones – fathers, mothers, brothers or plainly bread winners.
Yes, I am talking about the untimely demise of Andhra Chief Minster Y S Rajashekara Reddy and deaths of over 150 of his followers. One of those followers, who had committed suicide, has written in his note that since YSR has dedicated his life for the masses, he was dedicating his life for YSR before consuming pesticide. Height of madness, indeed?
In Tamil Nadu too, when matinee idol and former CM MG Ramachandran died in US , followers back home went on a rampage torching and attacking vehicles and homes of opposition party followers and leaders and several people in the rural areas had even committed suicide to show their "love" to their leader. Not long ago, we have seen a spurt in suicides over Sri Lankan issues.
What happened to those families who had lost their breadwinners? None of the political parties/leaders had ever turned back at them and I am sure these families would be languishing in penury.
What is Vaiko doing and where is VCK leader Thiruma? The latter even rode on the sympathy wave and became an MP. Did he do anything for the families whose main members had committed suicide for "his" (personal) cause?
You love a leader and you follow his principle. Nothing wrong in it. But when the love becomes obsession, madness creeps in and family comes last for these people.
Idol worshipping is a big political gamble down south. Be it in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka or Andhra, people just follow what their silverscreen heroes order them to do. They would do anything for their 'Thalaiver (leader)'. They would even die for them. Will they die for their own mother or father? They won't. Because they are not good orators, they don't know how to make them live in a dream world or virtual world and they don’t help them to do wrong things.
If 67 people died for YSR, some six lakh people should have died for Mahatma Gandhi? If one wants to show respect to his/her leader, he or she should follow the path shown by him. By committing suicide would no way help anyone, at the same time, this would put unnecessary pressure on the family. Did any one think about how their spouses are going to raise their children?
To think on this line, education is paramount. Most of those killed themselves for the sake of their leader, are poor and uneducated who got scared of their existence in the absence of YSR who dolled out several pro-poor developmental schemes for them.
To stop such unnecessary deaths in the event of a leader's sudden demise, parties concerned should assure all support and assistance to people in the absence of any leader. No leader should be considered taller than the party.
There should always be a political successor in a party. Take a cue from DMK in Tamil Nadu. Everyone knows for sure that after DMK patriarch’s time, there will be a smooth transformation of power to his son MK Stalin (since trouble maker son MK Azagiri has got a central ministry). But this is not the case with AIADMK where the party will go for a spin in the absence of Jayalalithaa.
It's very sad that Congress has lost one of its mass leaders. What is more pathetic and regrettable is that about 150 families had lost their dearest ones – fathers, mothers, brothers or plainly bread winners.
Yes, I am talking about the untimely demise of Andhra Chief Minster Y S Rajashekara Reddy and deaths of over 150 of his followers. One of those followers, who had committed suicide, has written in his note that since YSR has dedicated his life for the masses, he was dedicating his life for YSR before consuming pesticide. Height of madness, indeed?
In Tamil Nadu too, when matinee idol and former CM MG Ramachandran died in US , followers back home went on a rampage torching and attacking vehicles and homes of opposition party followers and leaders and several people in the rural areas had even committed suicide to show their "love" to their leader. Not long ago, we have seen a spurt in suicides over Sri Lankan issues.
What happened to those families who had lost their breadwinners? None of the political parties/leaders had ever turned back at them and I am sure these families would be languishing in penury.
What is Vaiko doing and where is VCK leader Thiruma? The latter even rode on the sympathy wave and became an MP. Did he do anything for the families whose main members had committed suicide for "his" (personal) cause?
You love a leader and you follow his principle. Nothing wrong in it. But when the love becomes obsession, madness creeps in and family comes last for these people.
Idol worshipping is a big political gamble down south. Be it in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka or Andhra, people just follow what their silverscreen heroes order them to do. They would do anything for their 'Thalaiver (leader)'. They would even die for them. Will they die for their own mother or father? They won't. Because they are not good orators, they don't know how to make them live in a dream world or virtual world and they don’t help them to do wrong things.
If 67 people died for YSR, some six lakh people should have died for Mahatma Gandhi? If one wants to show respect to his/her leader, he or she should follow the path shown by him. By committing suicide would no way help anyone, at the same time, this would put unnecessary pressure on the family. Did any one think about how their spouses are going to raise their children?
To think on this line, education is paramount. Most of those killed themselves for the sake of their leader, are poor and uneducated who got scared of their existence in the absence of YSR who dolled out several pro-poor developmental schemes for them.
To stop such unnecessary deaths in the event of a leader's sudden demise, parties concerned should assure all support and assistance to people in the absence of any leader. No leader should be considered taller than the party.
There should always be a political successor in a party. Take a cue from DMK in Tamil Nadu. Everyone knows for sure that after DMK patriarch’s time, there will be a smooth transformation of power to his son MK Stalin (since trouble maker son MK Azagiri has got a central ministry). But this is not the case with AIADMK where the party will go for a spin in the absence of Jayalalithaa.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jobs Cut, Melt-down, Who Cares? We Fleece Parents
K Ramanathan Iyer
At this time of economic meltdown when jobs are being shed and salary cut becomes the norm of the day, educational institutions in and around Chennai are making merry by steeply increasing the admission and term fees from 20-30 per cent.
While the state government turning a deaf ear to the public outcry over the unprecedented rise in school fees, parents are feeling the pressure. As Chennai is known for its dubious distinction of being one of the costliest cities in India, education, health care and hospitality sectors were considered to be the best bargain among all cities. But things have changed over the past two years now, thanks to the IT boom in this southern metropolis.
Coming back to the education alone, school managements of various leading schools have increased the fees thinking that education is an "essential" one and people have to pay if they want 'quality" education. What kind of quality they are talking about in imparting the knowledge to the kids is something to be debated.
For example, in Chainmaya Vidyalaya, the chain of schools run by the Chinmaya Mission based in Mumbai, an across the board increase of 33 in term fees has been announced for the next academic session. My son is studying in the school and I know their standard of education.
To my surprise, the trust has asked the parents seeking admission for their wards in LKG a donation of Rs 25,000 this year. They have also changed the policy of giving admission to the sibling though the management denied that there was any such policy shift. But I myself was the victim last year as my second son was denied admission in the first standard though my elder son was studying in sixth.
This year too around 25 parents were denied admission for their wards in LKG though their siblings were studying in the same school. My friend, who is working in a leading news paper in Chennai, was fuming that when the management told him that his son was not selected as he did poorly in the interview. His daughter is studying in 1st standard in the same school. What ridiculous? According to SC ruling no kindergarten children should be subjected to interview but these schools are freely floating the rules and fleecing the gullible parents.
In Velammal School where my sister is teaching told me this stunner. When the management was asked by the teachers about the proposed fee hike citing the increasing job cuts in IT and other sectors, the reaction was shocking. “As ours is the essential one, people will have no option but to pay the fee we quote,” was the answer given by the management.
The school has A-Z section for KG alone and has now expanded the sections to A1, A2 etc with each class having the student strength of 40. It’s a huge money making business for these institutions in the name of imparting knowledge.
The school is proposed to have a 30 per cent hike in school fee. To meet the increased kids strength, the school is plying buses in all directions and even picking up children even 15 km away. What a pity? An LKG kid has to travel for about one hour to reach his/her school? According the CBSE norm schools should serve the kids in and around 5 km radius. Again a clear case of floating of rules by the school. Another popular school DAV in Anna Nagar has announced an increase of 20 % hike in fee for the next session.
As KVs becoming out of reach for commoners due to preference being given to defence and government personnel only, general public look for private schools for their kids admission and these schools using their haplessness to their full favour.
If you argue that the recession and price rise have also affected these schools and how would they pay salaries and meet the running cost? It’s better to ask the teachers themselves. Their salaries are pathetic, they are forced to sit after school hours by the management for preparing charts and other school events, no proper pay revision and exploitation to the hilt and basic amenities that these schools provide to students are far from adequate.
With high-fly international schools like Sheram Academy, Pon Vidyashram, newly started Chennai Public School and Sparten (all CBSE) schools charging not less than Rs 50,000 as admission fees for LKG, parents in Chennai are now caught up between the devil and the deep sea.
At this time of economic meltdown when jobs are being shed and salary cut becomes the norm of the day, educational institutions in and around Chennai are making merry by steeply increasing the admission and term fees from 20-30 per cent.
While the state government turning a deaf ear to the public outcry over the unprecedented rise in school fees, parents are feeling the pressure. As Chennai is known for its dubious distinction of being one of the costliest cities in India, education, health care and hospitality sectors were considered to be the best bargain among all cities. But things have changed over the past two years now, thanks to the IT boom in this southern metropolis.
Coming back to the education alone, school managements of various leading schools have increased the fees thinking that education is an "essential" one and people have to pay if they want 'quality" education. What kind of quality they are talking about in imparting the knowledge to the kids is something to be debated.
For example, in Chainmaya Vidyalaya, the chain of schools run by the Chinmaya Mission based in Mumbai, an across the board increase of 33 in term fees has been announced for the next academic session. My son is studying in the school and I know their standard of education.
To my surprise, the trust has asked the parents seeking admission for their wards in LKG a donation of Rs 25,000 this year. They have also changed the policy of giving admission to the sibling though the management denied that there was any such policy shift. But I myself was the victim last year as my second son was denied admission in the first standard though my elder son was studying in sixth.
This year too around 25 parents were denied admission for their wards in LKG though their siblings were studying in the same school. My friend, who is working in a leading news paper in Chennai, was fuming that when the management told him that his son was not selected as he did poorly in the interview. His daughter is studying in 1st standard in the same school. What ridiculous? According to SC ruling no kindergarten children should be subjected to interview but these schools are freely floating the rules and fleecing the gullible parents.
In Velammal School where my sister is teaching told me this stunner. When the management was asked by the teachers about the proposed fee hike citing the increasing job cuts in IT and other sectors, the reaction was shocking. “As ours is the essential one, people will have no option but to pay the fee we quote,” was the answer given by the management.
The school has A-Z section for KG alone and has now expanded the sections to A1, A2 etc with each class having the student strength of 40. It’s a huge money making business for these institutions in the name of imparting knowledge.
The school is proposed to have a 30 per cent hike in school fee. To meet the increased kids strength, the school is plying buses in all directions and even picking up children even 15 km away. What a pity? An LKG kid has to travel for about one hour to reach his/her school? According the CBSE norm schools should serve the kids in and around 5 km radius. Again a clear case of floating of rules by the school. Another popular school DAV in Anna Nagar has announced an increase of 20 % hike in fee for the next session.
As KVs becoming out of reach for commoners due to preference being given to defence and government personnel only, general public look for private schools for their kids admission and these schools using their haplessness to their full favour.
If you argue that the recession and price rise have also affected these schools and how would they pay salaries and meet the running cost? It’s better to ask the teachers themselves. Their salaries are pathetic, they are forced to sit after school hours by the management for preparing charts and other school events, no proper pay revision and exploitation to the hilt and basic amenities that these schools provide to students are far from adequate.
With high-fly international schools like Sheram Academy, Pon Vidyashram, newly started Chennai Public School and Sparten (all CBSE) schools charging not less than Rs 50,000 as admission fees for LKG, parents in Chennai are now caught up between the devil and the deep sea.
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