Bhubaneswar, Dec. 14: Schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) across the state are gearing up to put in place a mechanism to collect fees online after it issued a directive for a "cashless mode of fee collection" from January 1.
The CBSE's decision was taken to cut down cash transactions at schools and bring in more transparency. Most schools in the state welcomed the move and said it would not affect them much.
However, it is not clear if the CBSE's directive has anything to do with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to a cashless system.
"We already have an online system in place since last year and many parents already use it," said Debendra Pati, a senior teacher at DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur.
Besides all the DAV Group of Schools, all four international schools in the state have the facility for online transactions.
"It is a welcome move and we appreciate it as it will make things more convenient for parents," said Jyotiranjan Sahoo, a Xavier High School, Bhubaneswar.
The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas operating in the state have also been issued the directive.
Some parents were, however, sceptical about the implementation of the directive in these schools.
Some of the parents that The Telegraph spoke to said these schools were often situated in the interior parts of the state and might face problems, especially because of internet connectivity.
"The parents of these students are not so literate and might find it hard to operate online facilities. The school authorities must help them out until they become familiarised with the system," said Sabita Shukla, a former student of a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.
However, the authorities of these schools said they were fully prepared to handle the shift to non-cash mode of payments.
"Although the online option is available, many parents prefer to deposit the school fees in cash. It will take some time for the change to seep in, but it will definitely happen," said Bramhananad Jena, a parent.
Besides the collection of fees, the schools have been directed to make all payments for availing various services, procurement, wages and other transactions in non-cash mode.
The schools have also been directed to interact with parents during parent-teacher meetings to spread awareness about the benefits of cashless transactions.
