There has been a heated debate between various parent associations and school authorities for the past few days now. The parents have all come together and expressed before the schools their humble request of waiving off school fees for the next 3 months due to the lockdown.
#NoSchoolNoFees and #WaiveSchoolFees have been trending on Twitter for the past two days now. The pandemic has taken a major toll on people’s livelihood and the economy of the country.
The government along with the Reserve Bank of India have implemented various steps to relax the burden to some extent. One such measure which was highly welcomed by the masses was the 3-month moratorium on EMI.
While the implementation of these measures has been appreciated by the citizens it has also added to their expectations and the confusion.
Schools and colleges were among the first public services to have been shut down due to the sudden hike in the COVID-19 cases in the country, a week before the nation-wide lockdown was imposed.
However, classes continued in most educational institutions including schools as well. Teachers have been conducting online classes or constantly forwarding notes to the students through various apps.
In addition to this, though the schools and colleges haven’t been able to operate physically, they have been trying to keep the system going through virtual means.
Under such circumstances, the schools are in no position to strike off the salaries of their staff members due to the lockdown.
Parents Expect A Waive Off On The School Fees
After the 3 month moratorium on the EMI and the extended conflict on relief of rent for migrant workers and students, parents across the country seem to be worried about whether they have to continue paying the school fee of their kids or whether they will get a relaxation on it under such stressful times.
Private schools across the country have received such pleas regarding the waive off on school fees.
According to the parents, they have been paying for transport costs and the meal charges for their kids even though their children aren’t using any of those particular services.
While some parents have only asked for relaxation in the deadlines of the payment, others who have been facing a tough time economically, have requested for a complete waiver.
There are still others who have used this debate as an umbrella subject under which they expressed their demands of waiving off exams too due to the on-going pandemic and the anxiety it has led to.
Times Of India has cited some examples of such cases with parents seeking direct help from the government now – “The Delhi Parents Association, has also written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, requesting for a moratorium on school fee collection.”
These parents are in the hope of some sort of relief measures that would cater to their demands.
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Schools Express Their Concerns Too
While the Home Minister has urged schools to refrain from hiking their annual fees, no official notice has been issued by the government on waiving off the fees completely.
A number of schools and associations have however suspended the payment of fees till the end of the lockdown.
The schools have requested the government not to issue an order for a complete and mandatory suspension. All schools have agreed to relax the deadlines for payment and have collectively decided not to pressurize the parents regarding the same.
Some schools have even incorporated a cut in the transport fee as no fuel is being used. However, due to the on-going classes, they haven’t been able to grant a complete suspension of fees as they have to pay their teachers and other staff members.
Genuine cases of inability to pay the fees are being looked into by them and the required steps would then be taken.
There has been a considerable amount of confusion caused due to the absence of a single rule being followed by all. Neither of the sides seems to be united in the expression of their concerns.
This has made it difficult for the government to take any action. Parents are stuck in a dilemma between the relaxations and the complete waive off of fees.
An article of the Economic Times featured a comment of a confused parent in conversation with the PTI complaining about the chaotic situation – “There is no clarity. Schools are still charging miscellaneous fees like meal charges and transport charges. Nobody knows what has been waived and what is still there. When we reach out to schools they say its only a relaxation in the time and not the amount”.
The government is trying to pacify both sides with reasonable arguments. Together they do hope to come up with a solution to the #NoSchoolNoFees issue at hand.
Image Credit: Google Images
Sources: Economic Times, Times Of India
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This post is tagged under: #NoSchoolNoFees, school fees, waive off, parents, association, teachers, online classes, virtual teaching, meal charges, transport charges, government, home minister, #WaiveSchoolFees
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