Private schools told to waive 50% fees

GUWAHATI: The Assam government, by an order, has asked all privates schools in the state to waive off 50% of fees for the month of April for students of pre-primary to Class XII and also barred them from hiking fees during the Covid-19 pandemic period or imposing pay cuts of teaching and non-teaching staff.

The fee order is not appplicable for state government-run schools where education is free. “Any school, which violates these instructions, will face action under the Disaster management Act and will be closed down,” education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Sarma added that schools, which have already taken the fee for month of April, have to adjust the 50% waiver in the fees for May. “The 50% waiver will have to be on the total fee charged by a school under all heads in a month,” he said, adding, “No school can deduct salaries of its teachers and other non-teaching staff just because it has to waive off 50% of a month’s fees.”

The order, which has been issued by commissioner and secretary of secondary education department Preetom Saikia, stated that the state government was compelled to shut schools and colleges from March 16 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has affected the income of all citizens who “are not in a position to afford payment of school fees till the lockdown period is over.

The order added, “To provide relief to the parents/guardians whose wards are studying in schools up to senior secondary level, a discussion was carried out with the selected representatives of the schools established by an association of individuals or society or trusts so that delivery of educational services is not impacted and after taking into consideration the sufferings of the people of Assam.”

The order said because “the schools established by the above-mentioned authorities with an objective to serve society without any profit motive”, therefore these educational institutions to “stand behind to minimise the miseries of the parents/guardians of students studying in their educational institutions.”

“The government is of the considered opinion that there has to be fee concession for the students studying in these schools to any class from pre-primary to Class XII during the lockdown period with effect from 1 April, 2020,” the order stated.

It added that government considered the savings and the possible cost curtailment that can be done under some of the heads of the above-mentioned educational institutions due to closure of schools during the lockdown period before issuing the directives.