Page 45 - Education World July 2020

“All private schools in Delhi have complied nual fee increase have severely jeopardised the financial
with the government order and charged stability of BPS, since parents who are ‘capable to pay’ are
parents only tuition fees during the lock- reluctant to pay. Moreover, the government order abolish-
down period. But there is huge shortfall ing School Leaving Certificate is aimed at destroying BPS.
in the collection of fees and most private Many parents who have not paid their children’s fees will
schools are struggling to meet mandatory now be able to transfer into government schools.” — Kulb -
expenses including teachers salary payments. In its order hus han Sharma, president, Federation of Private Schools
the government clearly says that the fees collection restric- Association, Haryana
tion is for the lockdown period. Now with the Central and
state governments officially beginning Unlock 1.0, we want
them to issue a new order allowing schools to charge an-
nual and development fees.” — B harat A ro ra, general
secretary, Action Committee Unaided Recognized Private Fees
Schools can collect tuition fees from
Schools, Delhi parents who can afford to pay

Online education
No government directive
Fees
Private schools not permitted to hike
fees for 2020-21. Some schools
offer 10-20 percent fees waiver “The state government has been changing its stand and is-
suing confusing directives on fees collection. First, it pro-
Online education hibited schools from collecting fees during the lockdown
Optional online classes
period. Then it allowed only schools that conduct online
classes to collect fees. In the circumstances, it has become
very difficult to pay teachers. The government should waive
private schools’ property tax and electricity dues owing for
Fees the past few months” — R amranjan Kumar Sing h, gen-
No fee hike, parents not to be compelled eral secretary, Jharkhand Private Schools Association
to pay

Online education
No government directive Fees
No fee hike or extra charge for online classes
High court order
On June 19, high court ordered that schools Online education
cannot cancel admission on failure to Online classes for limited hours
deposit fees
High court order
On July 8, Karnataka high court stayed govern-
ment order banning online classes for LKG-class
Fees V
Parents not to be compelled to pay fees;
no fee hike in 2020-2021 “The Karnataka government has not
come forward to help private school
Online education education, either monetarily or through
No government directive policy making during this difficult time
High court order even though we contribute immensely
On June 30, Punjab and Haryana HC allowed private schools to col- to nation building. The government is
lect tuition, admission fee irrespective of online classes also sending mixed messages about on-
line classes. On one hand, it is encour-
Moreover, the state government has issued an order stat- aging profit-making online education businesses such as
ing that the School Leaving Certificate is not mandatory Byjus and Vedant and on the other it is discouraging private
for students wanting admission into government schools. schools from conducting online classes to ensure learning
“The government is doing its best to destroy the state’s pri- continuity of children.” — M ans o o r A li Khan, general
vate schools especially budget private schools (BPS). First, secretary, Management of Independent CBSE Schools As-
its directives deferring fees collection and prohibiting an- sociation, Karnataka

JULY 2020 EDUCATIONWORLD 45