Getting into nursery in the capital costlier than IIT

Parents successfully clearing the rigorous nursery school admission process of their wards in Delhi find themselves staring at one last but big hurdle -fees that even top the annual Rs 50,000 charged for admission by IITs.

Parents successfully clearing the rigorous nursery school admission process of their wards in Delhi find themselves staring at one last but big hurdle -fees that even top the annual Rs 50,000 charged for admission by IITs.

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With thousands of parents fighting over a few hundred seats in a limited number of good schools, the private institutions call the shots during the admission season.

The current fee structure in the IITs is around Rs 50,000 per annum. Besides, students pay about Rs 20,000 annually for other purposes like accommodation, alumni and admission fees.

But when it comes to reputed nursery schools in Delhi and NCR, the figure increases significantly and quotes anywhere around or above Rs 75,000 a year, which parents have to shell out even after undergoing a rigorous interview and evaluation process.

For instance, a school in Gurgaon charges Rs 75,000 as admission fees, while the composite annual fee is Rs 1,70,000 for 2009-10 school term. Besides, there are extra charges such as Rs 38,000 to Rs 44,000 as annual transport fees, Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,500 as IT fees every year.

Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said he was aware of violations, but his department could only act against a school if it receives complaints from parents.