KOCHI: The ongoing tiff between the school managements and parents over charging of monthly fee during lockdown took an ugly turn recently when police used force to remove agitators in Kochi.
In an attempt to limit the damage from an apparent PR disaster, the Council of CBSE Schools Kerala (CCSK) came out with a statement claiming that schools have been proactive in introducing online classes at the earliest.
“All the CBSE schools in the state had begun conducting online classes right from the first week of June. And these classes were being conducted as per the guidelines issued by the CBSE boards,” said Indira Rajan, secretary-general, CCSK. According to her, conducting online classes is not an easy task. “But we wanted our students to get the best,” she added.
“It should be noted that a High Court division bench order has allowed schools to charge the same fees as in the 2019-2020 academic year. But taking into consideration the difficulties being faced by the parents, a large number of schools in the state have come up with various plans like reducing the fee by some percentage and making provision for payment in instalments,” she said. According to her, all these facilities are on offer even now.
“But it should be noted that till date, fee remittances have been lower than 50 per cent. It should be understood that the CBSE schools in the state-run on the income received via fees from the students. Hence, non-remittance of fees has forced schools into a financial tight spot,” said Indira.
According to her, this, in turn, has made it tough for the schools to pay salaries to their employees.
“It should be understood that teachers are investing a lot of time and energy in conducting online classes. Also, they are doing so by adhering to the guidelines issued by the CBSE,” said Indira. According to her, the board has prescribed a lesson plan and the number of portions that needs to be covered.
“So, restricting the classes to 30 minutes is not possible,” she added. Another thing that needs to be taken into note is that many are yet to pay the fee for the last academic year too, said Indira. “Why aren’t they taking this into consideration?” she asked.
According to her, maybe an incident or two might have happened where a student has been suspended for not paying fees.
“But the CCSK has been specific in telling the member schools to not take such steps. All the schools have been lenient in this regard and have allowed students to sit for this academic year too,” she said.
“We are doing so taking into consideration the future of the students. And we are doing so without any guarantee. These students might ditch the school next year without paying fees and seek admission in state schools,” she said.
She blamed certain people are instigating parents by selectively quoting the court order. “It is sad to see them posting messages that show the CBSE schools in a poor light. They forget that it is their children who will suffer if these schools are shut,” said Indira.