Kakinada: Private schools in deep crisis as income dries up

Kakinada: Private educational institutions are facing serious financial difficulties and they are unable to pay the salaries, bank debts and building rental charges in East Godavari district.

State Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh ordered for the closure of the academic year without consulting the private school managements and teachers' associations, they allege. After the Minister's statement, parents are not coming forward to pay the school fees in the district. The private managements state that the schools are solely dependent on the fees collected from the students and there is no government support in this matter.

Andhra Pradesh Private School Association East Godavari district president and legal adviser Muthukumilli Srivijay said 60 per cent of schooling is rendered by the private school managements. The closure of the institutes during the Covid pandemic is casting a heavy financial burden on the private managements. He said that during the lockdown last year all private school managements suffered financially and faced a critical period.

They have not recovered from the loss till today. Srivijay urged the both Central and State governments to waive interest on their bank loans and also get Reserve Bank of India(RBI) nod for them to delay the instalments and loan dues in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sreevijay said that last year the government permitted the students to join the government schools without TC from the private schools. They didn't consult the private managements regarding their admission into the government schools. Many of the students joined the government schools without paying the fees to the private schools.

He demanded that the government should help them financially to come out of the financial crisis. He also demanded exemption from taxes, electrical bills and other miscellaneous bills to be paid to the government. He also requested the government to consult with RBI for waiving of interest on their loans.

Narayana School correspondent Narayana claimed that during the lockdown period, 26 correspondents of various private schools in the state died due to Covid. It is regrettable that the government has not come to the rescue of the private managements and turned a blind eye towards the misery and woes of the private school managements.