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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Friday asked state governments to issue instructions to private schools in their respective states on collecting fees in installments during the lockdown.
“It has been brought to my notice by many parents from all across the country that even in this time of crisis many schools are increasing their annual fee. A lot of schools are also asking parents to deposit the school fee for three months together… I request all schools to join hands in the #FightAgainstCoronavirus, empathize with the parents amid this global disaster and re-consider the decision,” said HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Twitter on Friday.
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In a circular addressed to the secretaries, principal secretaries and additional chief secretaries of all states and union territories also flagged concerns, including the inability of parents to pay school fees in quarterly, biannual or annual lumpsum and of schools halting the payment of salaries to teachers.
The board pointed to its affiliation bye-laws, which state that schools can only charge fees under heads prescribed by the governments of the respective state or UT; and that fees under any head are only to be charged as per the regulations of the appropriate government.
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Also referring to the state governments’ powers to determine the manner in which school fees are to be collected, the board urged the governments to “consider issuing suitable instructions on periodicity of payment of school fees and payment of salaries to the teaching and non-teaching staff to be applicable during the time of the pandemic”, to which it has also asked for action taken reports.
While the governments of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana have announced that schools should not pressure parents to pay fees during the lockdown, the Delhi government on Friday ordered that private schools are not to hike fees, that they are to only collect tuition fees on a monthly basis, and that they are to release salaries for all staff.
