Schools in the unaided streams have started collecting fee for the new academic year despite no clarity yet on reopening of educational institutions following the pandemic crisis.
Parents have started receiving letters from managements of CBSE/ICSE schools asking to pay the fee for the academic year 2020-21. The payment can be made online. Some managements have informed that fee cheques can be deposited at the drop boxes set up at the school entrance.
The fee collection has been started bypassing the statement by Chief Minister on April 11 that managements should not pressurise parents to remit the fee in the lockdown period, considering the impact on family income because of the COVID-19 situation.
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No order
On whether the government had issued any orders permitting the managements to start collecting the fees, the Education Department authorities said that there was no order restraining fee collection. “The government position was announced by the Chief Minister and there has been no change in it till now,” said a senior official.
T.P. M Ibrahim Khan, president of the Kerala CBSE School Managements Association, said that managements were collecting the fee arrears only. “Schools will not be able to disburse the salary to its staff without resuming fee collection.” he said.
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Hike in bus fee
However, parents clarified that they had received notices from schools to pay the fee for the new academic year. Several managements had dropped the move to hike the tuition fee in view of the current situation. But some have decided to increase the bus fee for 2020-21 period, they said.
Parents can approach the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights against the fee collection by managements stating that the Centre and the State governments were yet to announce the schedule for the new academic year and there was no guarantee on whether schools can re-open in June.
The complaints can be filed as per the provisions of the Right to Education Act, according to Education Department officials.