The Maharashtra English School Trustees Association (MESTA) on Thursday urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to grant a monetary package as the ban on fee collection by various State governments on private schools has badly hit the payment of salaries to teachers and support staff.
In a letter to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, MESTA State president Sanjay Tayade Patil sought assistance for the education sector, which is among the priority lending sectors. MESTA said they were giving interest-free loans to parents to fund school fees, tuition fees, purchasing books and other study material, and schools to pay recurring costs like salaries, overheads and capital expenditure.
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Mr. Patil said, “It [education sector] is bleeding due to paucity of monetary resources and diktat of State governments to ban the collection of fees from parents. This has caused immense financial strain on private schools, leading them to put on hold salaries to the teaching and non-teaching staff, which is approximately two crores across over five lakh private institutions in the country. The schools are unable to make payments and teachers are facing a bleak and uncertain future.”
MESTA said it was concerned about the well-being of over 18,000 members and 80,000 teachers across 37 districts in the State. It said their survival solely depends on school fees and yet they are taking efforts to teach students from home.
Mr. Patil in his letter said the recovery of the principal amount on interest-free loans for parents should be initiated in installments six to nine months after the start of the academic year. Similarly, the recovery of the principal amount from schools should be initiated after six months.
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The MESTA letter comes after the body made a similar request to Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on April 24 seeking withdrawal of the ban on collection of fees by private schools. However, the State government has so far not issued any statement in this regard.