Jharkhand education minister Jagarnath Mahto on Sunday appealed to all private schools of the state to waive off fees during the lockdown period and promised to issue an order in this regard soon.
He said school authorities should not charge fees from students at a time the country was in the throes of a pandemic and had been put under a lockdown. “A number of people have told me that schools should waive off fees during the lockdown period. I will soon pass an order in this regard. We will discuss and analyse the duration for which the exemption should be effective,” the minister said.
Mahto also tweeted his views about the fee waiver while responding to a plea made by state vice-president of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) Inderjit Singh.
In his tweet, Singh had requested chief minister Hemant Soren and the education minister to promote all students of classes I-IX and XI in all private schools of Jharkhand besides waiving off fees for three months.
“The lockdown has badly affected trade, commerce and industry. The salaried class may not face any problem, but what about parents who are daily wage earners? Schools are also part of the society and their managements should set an example,” Singh said.
The decision will come as a huge relief for parents such as Rajan Verma, a sales representative by profession. “I have not lost my job, but I am on leave without pay. Whatever savings I had is getting exhausted. My two kids study in a private school and I am worried about the payment of fees. This is a good decision by the government and it will come as a huge relief for parents like us,” Verma, a resident of Circular Road, added.
However, private schools are in no mood to adhere to the request. “Eighty per cent of the school’s earnings are used to pay the salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff. Those who can’t pay the tuition fees should seek help from the government,” B. Chandrashekhar, secretary of Jharkhand Unaided Private Schools and Educational Institutions, said.
Ram Singh, principal of Delhi Public School in Ranchi, said they would hold a meeting on this issue. “This is the time to stay united. Of course schools have a crucial role to play. But we too have employees and their salaries depend on the payments of school fees,” the principal said.
Ajit Rai, president of the All Schools Parents Association, said schools reaped huge profits and had enough funds to pay their teaching and non-teaching staff.
