Private schools have decided to give parents time to pay fees till August in view of many homes facing money problems owing to the extended lockdown to curb the novel coronavirus pandemic.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the president of the Association of Jharkhand Unaided Private Educational Institutions, an umbrella outfit for over 60 private schools in and around the steel city, said that they had agreed to increase the timeframe keeping in mind the financial constraints faced by many parents during this trying time.
The association has also decided not to increase the fees according to the directive of the ministry of human resource development for the academic session 2020-21.
In Ranchi, too, many private schools have decided to give parents the extra time till August to pay school fees.
A reputable private school in Jharkhand may charge fees ranging between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800 for a student of Class IX or X. .
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic surfaced and the lockdown shut most economic activities, a number of parents and associations of parents wrote to chief minister Hemant Soren asking for some relief from school fees.
State education minister Jagarnath Mahto had also appealed to schools to waive fees during the lockdown.
The management of most schools, however, refused to waive fees from the onset, arguing that teachers’ salaries and statutory dues needed to be paid, and that fees were the only source of revenue for private unaided schools.
President of the Association of Jharkhand Unaided Private Educational Institutions, Bailey Bodhanwala, said they were aware some parents were facing cuts in income ever since the lockdown.
“At the same time, private schools must also continue to pay teachers salaries and other statutory dues. The only source of income is the school fee paid by parents. Salaries and related charges alone account for more than 75 per cent of expenses of private schools. The MHRD has appealed to all schools not to increase fees during the lockdown period and to provide parents the option of staggered payments to reduce their burden. They have in no way recommended the state governments to waive school fees,” he said.
He added that parents would not be charged any fine or late fee for the period between March and August 2020.
In Ranchi too, many schools have decided that parents can pay fees till August without any late fine, averred Samarjit Jana, principal of JVM Shyamali in Ranchi.
“This will help the parents to a great extent,” Jana said.
The All Schools Parents’ Association of India (Jharkhand) had earlier written a letter to Hemant Soren seeking help on making textbooks and notebooks available.
The Association of Jharkhand Unaided Private Educational Institutions has decided to look into the matter along with the district administration.
The ministry of home affairs on Tuesday allowed opening of educational book shops for students provided they followed certain standard operating procedures (SOPs) by amending revised consolidated guidelines issued on April 15.
“I have requested local book shops to seek permission from the police station their area falls under to open but also maintain social distancing. Students have been promoted to new classes and are without books, their needs can’t be overlooked, even though teachers share scanned pages on virtual platforms,” said Namita Agarwal, principal of the CBSE-affiliated Jamshedpur Public School.
