Unhappy with system, former HSPA member opens own school

HYDERABAD: Unhappy with the current education system and the exorbitant school fees, a city parent and former executive member of the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) opened his own school in Hyderabad.

Ashish Naredi(45), a resident of Hyderabad's Attapur area, announced the launch of his school, "Indic International School," at Kompally on the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dasami (Dussehra) on Wednesday.

In a few weeks, ISB graduate and entrepreneur Ashish Naredi, who now runs several MSME units in Hyderabad, will make his school operational and begin admitting students for the 2023-24 academic year. He joined the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) in 2008 to protest against the existing education system and exorbitant school fees.

Naredi and other HSPA team members raised their voice and held numerous protests, leaving no stone unturned in their fight against the fees that soared to unaffordable levels, but all in vain. Naredi now guarantees that tuition fee hikes at his new school would not exceed 10 percent annually. He may also peg it down further if enrollment grows more significantly.

The Indic International School founder stated, "If I had to describe the driving force for establishing this school, I would say it is a strong dissatisfaction with what we are doing with our children in the name of education and a belief that we can make a difference. In fact, I, along with many other HSPA members, view the opening of a school as nothing more than a logical extension of the cause that I personally, and our group as a whole, have supported. I would like to reaffirm the fundamental points of the HSPA position and, most definitely, of my own position, which is that the battle was not against profit but against profiteering. There is no chance of compromising on any of our values".

He continued, "Schools may charge fees that appear appropriate, based on the facilities provided but they must be transparent with parents about the quantum of fee hikes. That the increased fee be reasonable and with the approval of the parent community. While the exact amount of fees to be charged at Indic International School is yet to be determined, whatever amount is decided will be in accordance with the above principles - with absolute clarity on the quantum of fee hikes planned for the next three, if not five, years. Fees are certainly important but not the only critical aspect of education".