An Anglo-Indian school in central Calcutta has offered a 30 per cent “interim” discount on tuition fee in two of its schools if parents can establish financial crunch arising from business setbacks, pay cuts or job loss.

St. Augustine’s Day School, Calcutta, which had already waived fees linked to transport, laboratory and computer, offered the tuition fee concession because many parents are unable to pay.

The relief in tuition fees, the school feels, “would encourage more parents to pay” and clear their dues. The school expects the parents to pay the 30 per cent pending tuition fee when they are in a better financial position. The interim relief on tuition fee is from April till classes resume on the two campuses on Ripon Street and AJC Bose Road.

Richard Gasper, the principal of St. Augustine’s Day School, Calcutta, told Metro: “Some of the parents had written to us about the financial distress they were in because of the pandemic. We thought that if we give them the relief, they will be able to pay the balance amount instead of not paying at all. If we receive the part payment, it will also help us disburse the salary of our staff and meet other costs.”

The institution has written on its website: “... we have devised a tuition fee payment scheme whereby parents running business facing financial issues can pay 70 per cent of the tuition fees till the situation improves provided parents sign a declaration form with the school. Salaried parents wanting to avail of this interim relief will need to get a letter from their company stating that the company has not released payments to the staff or has paid a percentage of salary or has lost his or her job and would also have to sign a declaration to avail of interim relief.”

The notice adds: “Needless to mention, all parents would have to pay the balance 30 per cent of the fees due for the months they are seeking interim relief.”

The school is a member of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools. The executive committee of the association had in a meeting recently proposed that schools consider waiving certain fees. St. Augustine’s principal Richard Gasper was not present at the meeting but is a member of the executive committee.

St. Augustine’s, Calcutta, a private school, decided the fee relief after its own meeting on Monday. The tuition fees in the two schools vary from Rs 1,900 to Rs 3,000 a month from the primary classes to Class XII.

In the letter addressed to parents, Gasper has written: “It should be noted tuition fees are very essential for the running of the school, payment of staff salary, covering overhead costs, technology expenses etc. Hence we are unable to waive or reduce the fees for this session….”

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