The Loreto schools are “seriously looking” into the scope for giving concession to parents on certain fees and will soon call a meeting to discuss it.

“We are seriously looking into what concessions we can give. We are sympathetic to parents and we all have children,” said Sister Sabrina Edwards, provincial of Loreto Sisters, Southeast Asia, and the president of the Loreto House Educational Society of Calcutta.

The six Loreto schools in the city are Loreto House, Loreto Convent Entally, Loreto Day School Sealdah, Loreto Day School Bowbazar, Loreto Day School Elliot Road, Loreto Day School Dharmatala.

“The other side is paying the salary of the teachers and we have to strike a balance.… We have to take the tuition fees but for other fees we are seriously looking into it. Whatever support we can give to the parents and we are willing to go the extra mile,” said Sister Edwards. “We will have a meeting with the principals and the secretaries in the coming days.”

On Monday, the executive committee of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools had discussed the matter and proposed that schools consider waiving certain fees. The association had proposed that a part of the annual fees be waived to give some relief to parents at a time the pandemic-hit economy has gone into a tailspin.

Archbishop Thomas D’Souza had on Wednesday told The Telegraph: “...Our schools have not taken any decision on the recommendation yet. But we will definitely do that very soon. We will examine whether it is possible to consider certain fees.”

The archbishop had also said: “The association cannot take a decision on fees. The founder bodies and the managing committees of the individual schools can only take a decision on students’ fees.”

Sister Edwards also said “principals are looking into individual needs when parents are approaching them”.

Loreto has a policy on concession, as part of which books and stationery are arranged for a section of students.

As for online classes, Sister Edwards said there were children who could not afford a data card and the school was paying for the data so “they are not left behind”.

Some other schools, too, said they would consider the recommendations of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools.

“It was only a recommendation and not a decision. We will surely be sympathetic to parents and keep in mind their problems while taking any decision,” said Sister Margaret Subba, of the Daughters of the Cross. The four schools they run include St Teresa’s Secondary School, St Paul’s Day and Boarding School, St Paul’s School (Siliguri) and St Agnes’ Convent School (Howrah).

Don Bosco School, Liluah, has decided to take only the tuition fees and forgo other charges from April to August.

The Methodist Church, too, will consider waiving fees “that are not relevant now when the schools are not operating”. The schools under it are Calcutta Girls High School, Calcutta Boys School, Mount Hermon and Methodist Church School, Dankuni.