The fee disputes between the Gujarat government, parents and private schools in the State is worsening, with private schools suspending online classes after the State government told schools that fees cannot be charged during the COVID-19 lockdown and till they are shut.
After the government resolution (GR) was announced, private schools’ associations held a meeting and announced the suspension of all academic and administrative work from Thursday till the decision is withdrawn, calling it “unreasonable and unacceptable”.
In a notification, the Gujarat government directed private schools to not collect tuition fees from students as long as they remain shut in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also asked these schools to not hike fees for the 2020-21 academic year.
Private schools associations have decided to put on hold online classes, an alternative arrangement started earlier this month for students since schools are shut due to the pandemic.
Self-financed School Management Association’s (SSMA) spokesperson Dipak Rajyaguru on Thursday said almost all the self-financed schools in the State refrained from imparting online education.
“If the government believes online education is not real education, then there is no meaning of imparting such unreal education to our students. Online education will remain suspended until the government withdraws that notification,” Mr. Rajyaguru said in a statement.
The schools contend that they have to pay salaries of the teachers who conduct online classes even though schools are closed.
“We have to pay salaries of teachers and other administrative staff even during the pandemic so the government’s directive restraining the schools from charging fees is not justified,” the managing trustee of a leading school in Ahmedabad told The Hindu.
Gujarat’s Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said that the government has to protect the interests of the students and parents, who have suffered financial losses during the pandemic.
In fact, a parents’ association has also moved the High Court, filing a public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue. The next hearing in the PIL is scheduled to be held on July 24.
