Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

‘Non-refundable deposit’ likely in all Indian schools

Indian School, Wadi Kabir
Indian School, Wadi Kabir
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The chairman of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Indian Schools in Oman hinted at introduction of ‘nonrefundable caution money’ on new admissions, as parents of Indian School Salalah (ISS) expressed concern over fee hike. Wilson V George, Chairman BoD, did not commit as how much would be the ‘non-refundable’ fee, but said that it would depend on the size of the schools and number of students studying there. The ‘non-refundable deposit’ of RO 100 along with some additional charges has already been announced in ISS. The parents termed the hike “hefty and unreasonable” keeping in mind the paying capacity of the Indian parents in Salalah and those who have more than one child. The hike is effective this academic year in all classes from UKG to secondary levels in the school. The fee hike is to pinch mainly to the newcomers as they have to pay additional RO 100 ‘non-refundable deposit’ along with the existing RO 100 ‘refundable deposit’, which the


students get back at the time of leaving the school. Thus, for every new admission the parents now have to pay additional RO 114 for all other classes. The new fee structure, which the ISS parents could know only through the 2018 academic calendar of the school, also has an increase in tuition fee and some other heads because a difference of RO 14 is still coming even if the new head of RO 100 meant for ‘nonrefundable deposit’ for new admissions is kept aside. “Among the heads I heard about some charges against ERP software solution. I totally agree with the


school that it should upgrade school management system, but if they start charging the parents for everything, it is going to be too much, as the fee which we are paying already is meant for all those operational and other purposes,” said one of the parents Javid Khan. A large number of parents d id an informal meeting on Sunday to raise the issue and take up the matter with the school management or if needed with the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Indian Schools in Oman. They are open to meet competent authorities to have a sympathetic view on the new fee structure. Khan cited his own situation saying his one child is already in school while the second child is to join the school next year. “In the current situation I should be ready with some RO 400 at the time of admission, because it is not just admission… I have to buy books, uniform, transport etc and an expenditure of more than RO 600 would come annually only for one child,” he said. Other parents also echoed the same


sentiment and called for action based on the larger interest of the community. The chairman of the Board of Directors(BoD) of the Indian Schools in Oman, however, ruled out any fee hike move in I ndian Schools in Oman. “This is not fee hike. This is meant for infrastructure development and meant exclusively for operational, maintenance or development plans.” “Fee structure is different in different schools. We have 19 schools altogether. The fee structure of a school remains the same unless there is a change in fee needed for the school for the new academic year to meet their operational, maintenance or development plans. That is announced by the schools generally after the budget is approved. Budget approval is expected before March 3,” he said. When asked about the case of Indian School Salalah where ‘nonrefundable deposit’ has already been announced in the school calendar and distributed among the students, George said, “Indian School Salalah is a different case, as they d o their admissions independently and a little early.”


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