New Delhi: As schools across the country have been closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, stressed parents, whose income has been affected, want the government to consider waving off the hefty fee charged by the educational institutions during this crisis.
However, the heads of private schools are arguing that if fee is waived off, how will they pay salaries to their teaching staff, which is conducting online classes during the lockdown period.
According to a PTI report, the Delhi Parents Association has appealed to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to help them out in this regard.
The Parents Association, as quoted by PTI, said, “As the income and revenue from small and medium enterprises has already been stopped and the reserve fund has already been used to be utilised to meet out daily needs, it is a very tough time. We request that a moratorium on collection of fee be declared for at least one quarter or so as an austerity measure in such an unprecedented situation of a lockdown.”
Sharing his woes, a distressed parent said, “I have to pay Rs 10,000 each for the bus fee for my two children. It is unfair to charge this amount at a time when the buses are not being used at all by the children.”
As per the Directorate of Education (DoE) officials, it is a tricky situation as both the parents as well as private schools have their own fair reasons. The DoE is trying to find a solution to the problem.
A senior DoE official said, “We have been getting messages from parents that fee during the lockdown should be waived but schools say that how will they give salaries, which is also a genuine concern.”
Meanwhile, the Gurgaon and Noida schools have been directed by the government to suspend fee collection till the lockdown is over.