Gujarat: 25 Percent fees cut in all private schools
Gujarat: Times are difficult and the majority of the population is on a block of thin ice with respect to their finances. During such volatile period, the parents in the state of Gujarat exhaled a sigh of relief on Wednesday when the state government declared a 25% rebate in fees in all private schools, including CBSE, IB, ICSE, and CSE for the academic year 2020-21.
The parent's association members had earlier demanded a full waiver in the school fees till the schools reopened. The Association backed their petition on the ground reality that schools in the state are closed for over 180 days due to Coronavirus pandemic and only 40% of students have been able to attend online classes.
Following the petition made by the parents association, the Gujarat High Court had quashed the petition for no-fees and decided to leave it on the state government to decide on the school fee relaxation matter. Although, the High Court had directed that a balanced decision must be sort for keeping in mind the situation of all stakeholders involved.
The Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said in a statement: “The state government had held meetings with the school administrators and parents following the guidelines and judgment of the Gujarat High Court. As a result of the deliberations of these meetings, the school administrators and parents have agreed with the state government for a 25% fee relief.”
Chudasama added that since the state government has announced this relief, parents should pay 50% of their fees by October 31. This act on part of the parents will aid the school’s management in taking care of its expenses to a great extent.
A few parents’ associations which were demanding a 50% pay cut are still opposing the state government’s 25% decline in the fee.
“We will decide the course of action. Whether to challenge it legally or to submit a representation to the state government will be decided in coordination with parents’ associations of Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot. We stick to our demand of a 50% fee cut,” said Wali Swaraj Manch Amit Panchal, one of the petitioners.
The decision is believed to offer respite to parents of more than 30,00,000 students across 20,000 schools.
