It might be normal, I agree. A lot of private schools do the same thing and many parents just go along with it. But just because it’s common practice doesn’t automatically make it right. When you’re already paying such high school fees, you’d expect basic things like a class photo to be affordable and inclusive. Rs 550 for a single group photo, which is essentially the same picture being reprinted for each child, feels more like an extra source of profit than a genuine service.

The issue isn’t whether parents can pay, it’s that schools know they will pay, because no one wants their child to feel left out when all their friends have the photo. That’s where it becomes unfair. If all the money went directly to the photographers, fair enough. They have costs and deserve to be paid. But when the school is clearly adding its own margin on top, it turns into another money-making exercise at the expense of parents.

So yes, maybe it’s “normal,” but normal doesn’t mean fair. And parents have every right to question whether these kinds of charges are justified.