Vineeta Rao, Mumbai: It's that time of the year when anxious parents brush up on their nursery rhymes because in a couple of days toddlers will be appearing for their nursery school entrance interviews.

But it's not just the interview that's keeping parents like Pradip Jaiswal up at nights, whose two-year-old son Neil will be appearing for a test.

“What is worrying are the fees. It’s Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 for just nursery school. It's beyond the pockets of a middle class person but I want my son to go to a good school because I think it will give him an edge over the others,” Jaiswal said.

However, with pre-primary schools mushrooming in every neighborhood, it's the reputation or brand that's commanding considerable value. “The kind of ambiance we create in our schools along with the sort of teachers we recruit does come with a certain price tag,” Vice-President of Eurokids, Prajodh Rajan said.

So established schools like Bombay Scottish charge around Rs 18,000 a year while others like Eurokids, which are part of international chains, charge around Rs 40,000 and premium schools like Ecole Mondial cost around Rs 2 lakh per year.

And the list of worries doesn’t end at fees, parents also say that they have to pay an equal amount in donations. “Without donations it is impossible to get into the ‘good’ schools and that becomes the differentiator in the end,” Jaiswal said. It's these costs that are ensuring that parents like Manisha Gajra, whose son studies at a local school, no longer buy the expensive nursery brand.

“Why should I pay Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 for a school with goodwill when I can get the same quality of education in less money at a local school and without the donation,” Manisha said.

Given the burgeoning demand for quality pre-primary education in the state, the Government needs to put in some sort of regulatory system in place to ensure that learning is still fun both for little ones and their parents.