Even though schools are closed for more than nine months throughout the whole nation, parents are paying the full tuition fee of their wards studying in different private schools in Jammu. School Education Department made a proposal a few months ago to look into the possibility of reducing the school fee by 40 per cent but nothing concrete has been done yet in that regard.
Rajasthan High Court, on Friday, ordered all private schools in the state to charge fees in accordance with the state government’s order. Rajasthan government had ordered on October this year that till the time schools are not physically open, they are permitted to charge a maximum 60% of last year’s tuition fees. Once they are open, they will be allowed to charge as usual.
Private schools in Jammu and Kashmir have made headlines in the recent past for wrong reasons. As the coronavirus disease turned into a pandemic and schools were ordered to be shut down, the private schools kept on demanding full tuition fee. A parent said that during the COVID times many private schools have fired their teachers. Many teachers who are still on job are being paid half of their original salaries. These institutions have reduced their expenses and still, students are being forced to pay full tuition fees.
He demanded that the Jammu and Kashmir administration should stop this loot by private schools. The administration should direct these schools to refund the extra fee which they have charged during all these months. People in J&K are demanding that if other states and union territories can slash their tuition fee then why cannot the schools in J&K follow the same path?
The state government of Gujarat has ordered all private schools for 25% annual fees cut for the 2020-2021 academic year. In West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court on October 13 ordered to cut 20% fee in tuition fees in all “non-government aided schools” in the state because of COVID-19 pandemic. ( JKNL )
