OK. I admit there hasn't been much activity on this blog. After 7 posts each in January and February, only 3 came through in March and 1 in April.
What is more shocking, though, is not even the most loyal of my readers (and there are quite a few of you) nudged me about it.
So, here is my revenge - a second post of the day. Aw'right, I admit that the first one only contained pictures from the recent trip along the Indian highways....but it is something!
The little one has been going to school for almost two weeks now. It should have been three, but she wasn't well all of last week. A chance visit to a swimming pool resulted in an infection that needed antibiotics.
Before you ask, yes, she is fine now. Dropped her off at school on my way to work.
In case I haven't mentioned already, the little one managed to secure a place in Shri Ram School. It is a good school and quite a few her mates from her Montessori are there as well. It is quite expensive too - 45,000 INR at the time of admission, and another 22,000 INR top-up fee as "school fees may be subject to change". That'll be almost 4000 INR a day, considering the little one will only have 20 days of school in the first term!
Quite pricey, some would say. But remember this is a different Delhi we are talking about. This kind of money doesn't make people break a sweat, definitely not at this school. Heck, some parents thought I was whingeing too much when the topic of top-up fee was brought up.
The notice to pay up had come in an Account Statement. No letter. No explanation. Just a request to pay the said amount by the said date.
It would have been helpful to know the reasons for a hike - considering it was a 50% hike. The inflation rate in India is currently 11%, so surely that wasn't the reason. And as far as I know, good teachers and educational material hasn't seen a sudden surge in prices.
The little one's school diary did mention that we should "let a child's imagination soar", but even she couldn't work up a reasonable explanation for this. Sorry, that was a bad joke!
As I mentioned above, fellow parents didn't an issue being made of just a missing explanation. We were all waiting in a queue outside the school uniform shop. The shop only had socks and t-shirts, but didn't have any shorts. Even the socks and t-shirts were in short supply.
Parents with other kids in the school said this had been happening for years. I wondered if this said something about the school's attitude towards parents' time. Nothing at all, a Mum emphatically told me. They are very good with feedback. They listen to everything you have to say.
I told her that accepting criticism is the best disarming tactic in the book. The key thing is whether something has been done to resolve the problem.
The Mum was startled by my petulance. They do a lot of good stuff. They reach out to less privileged kids. They allow kids from poorer backgrounds to study in the school. They have modern teaching methods and they are very good with kids. I told her this was impressive but it still didn't sort out the supply of uniforms or an explanation for a fee hike.
I got the look that is very familiar to me from my childhood days. You spend too much time asking needless questions. Why don't you spend some of that time studying properly and getting good marks? I hear you, Mum. I hear you.
I still don't know why the fee was raised. The little one, though, is very happy at the school. Every day, she is excited about going to school. Every day, she wants to play a bit longer at the school. Every day, she is reminiscing what she did at the school.
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