September 25, 2011

Private schools charging a whopping Rs 30,000 for food expenses

HYDERABAD: Here is a breakfast that should not be skipped, at least going by its price tag where a half cup of 'upma', one fruit and one salad per person costs about Rs 400. This is not the rate of breakfast in a star hotel but charged by some private schools in the city. Drilling a hole into the pockets of parents, several schools in the city are now charging as much as Rs 30,000 per quarter towards what is called 'food expenses', a compulsory item in the annual fee chart.

Though select city schools have been providing food to students since a decade now, however, their breakfast and lunch budgets have increased by 20 to 30% in the last three years. In fact, some schools charge a huge amount even from parents of kindergarten and primary school children, conveniently ignoring the low quantity of food served to them. While school authorities blame inflation and management charges for the rising cost, parents clamour for a reasonable budget plan.

In spite of charging a bomb, the breakfast lists of most schools are usually deficient. A quick look at most menu cards reveal that the quantity of food served is mostly rationed. For instance, in one of the schools located in Madhapur, the breakfast menu has two slices of toasted bread, jam and a fruit for as high as Rs 150 a person. Another school charges around Rs 300 for what they call the Indian meal, three poories or two rotis with a side dish. There are schools that charge about Rs 200 from students for serving them tamarind rice or even tomato rice.

While the price on the menu might sound outlandish and could be even higher than the breakfast rates in some of the busiest restaurants in the city, parents say that about 20 to 35% of the annual fee goes towards the food budget. "Some of us are spending as much as Rs 30,000 per quarter on just the food expenses. There are schools that charge much more than this from parents," said mother of a Class VIII student from the city. Parents said that if the schools do not make food compulsory, students would perhaps get a taste of healthy food. "Students, especially those in lower classes do not like the same old items that are served for breakfast and lunch over and over again," said a parent. The compulsory breakfast regime where students are not allowed to get food from home exists in most international schools in the city.

Some CBSE and ICSE schools that offer breakfast and lunch for students hike prices even when there is a very small variation in market prices. "With the food served in school costing so much, we have decided to make one parent representative monitor the mess menu and expenses. The expenses came down drastically after this was implemented," said a parent whose child studies in an international school.

The school authorities, however, have a different take on the price issue. "Maintaining a kitchen and staff is really expensive and the schools cannot run their kitchens at a loss. The same parents who complain about the tariffs would raise a hue and cry the moment we suggest the withdrawal of this facility," said the principal of a Serilingampalli-based school. Officials said that breakfast and lunch facilities cannot be made optional as one needs a minimum number of takers to run a kitchen.

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