Rohtak schools see 95% drop in fee submission

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, April 15

The clamping of night curfew and closure of classes I to VIII has hit private as well as government schools in the district as parents have stopped depositing the fees of their wards, fearing a complete lockdown in coming days.

Consequently, the schools have recorded a decline of more than 95% in fee submission after the imposition of fresh curbs. The district has over 450 private schools at present.

“Around 100 parents were daily depositing fees of their wards before the closure of schools on April 9. The development reduced the number to 20 but the night curfew has hit the fee submission process badly. Now, merely four-five parents deposit the fees daily and it won’t last long as they are apprehensive about a complete lockdown soon,” said Anshul Pathania, secretary, Rohtak CBSE Schools’ Association.

He said many parents were also hopeful of some relaxation in fees like last year hence they were in a wait-and-watch mode and not showing any interest in depositing the amount despite several requests. The schools were in a tight spot due to the spurt in the Covid cases, he added.

Rajni, a parent, said except tuition fee, the schools were also demanding hefty annual charges and payment for smart classes. “The rising number of Covid cases on a daily basis gives credence to the possibility of a complete lockdown in the coming days. If this happens then the annual charges need not to be paid so I have not yet deposited the fees of my children,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ravinder Nandal, president, Haryana Private School Sangh, said the trend was almost similar in every district of the state. “After the imposition of night curfew, parents are neither depositing the fees nor demanding school-leaving certificates of their wards. We don’t know what they are thinking but the back-to-back orders for the closure of schools up to Class VIII and the night curfew have completely broken the backbone of private schools,” said Nandal.

Anil Kaushik, president, Progressive Private School Owners’ Association, said parents had categorically refused to pay the fees for online classes, forcing them to contemplate over relieving the teachers and other staffers of the schools, which were already reeling under a financial crisis.