MUMBAI: A Powai school principal’s crowdfunding initiative to pay fees of her students whose parents were hit by job losses and pay cuts has cover over 95% of the pending fees so far. Some donors are willing to sponsor deserving students in the future too, said Shirley Pillai, principal of Powai English High School.
“I was surprised how willingly individuals came forward to help. Some could offer funds for one ot two students only, but that mattered a lot to us,” said Pillai. “While a fundraising musical programme early this year did not take off, our alumni, some of them across the globe, also played a pivotal role in donating generously,” she added. She has managed to raise Rs 1 crore with donations made mostly by individuals and NGOs.
Teachers played a key role in identifying needy students. “Donors mostly wanted to pay for academically bright students. As many of our girls and boys are first-time learners, we did have average students who also needed the funds to continue learning,” said Pillai. Several hours went into explaining to donors why certain students needed money despite their report cards being weak.
Along with fund collection, the state board school was tasked to encourage parents to make partial fee payment. The annual fees are around Rs 35,000. “The parents’ financial crunch was for real, but they understood the need to pay fees. We asked them to pay some amount and leave the rest to us,” said Pillai.
The school trustee, Prashant Sharma, granted a 25% fee reduction though the state had asked schools for a 15% fee cut. “We haven’t increased fees for three years and will continue with the same fee structure in 2022-23,” said Pillai, who is positive that parents will be able to pay fees when schools reopen in mid-June.
