Hyderabad: Budget Private schools in a financial soup

Hyderabad: As theCovid-19 has hit the education sector hard, about 10 per cent of the budget private schools in Telangana are on verge of closure due to financial crisis. The managements claimed that 60 per cent of the students are yet to pay the fees for the academic year 2021-22. The managements want the education department to implement a rule of making the fees payment mandatory or they would deny TCs or bonafide.

According to the school teachers, due to the pandemic, the strength in the budget private schools has dropped as many families with no income have not been able to pay fees and transferred their children to government schools. However, as many students studying in private schools are yet to pay fees demanding more concession, 15 per cent of schools are already shut down.

Srinivas Rao, correspondent of Sadhana School said, "Despite of providing English-medium education at affordable charges, we are finding it difficult to collect fees. As the Covid pandemic has got endemic and everything has got back to normal, parents are still not willing to pay the fees as only eight days are left for the current academic year to complete. We are in a dilemma as to how will we be able to function in the future."

Shiva Ramkrishna, correspondent of St. Sai High School, New Bhoiguda said, "We can understand that due to the pandemic many people have been economically hit but for how long will the parents not pay the fees. For almost two years schools were functioning on online mood and budget schools were also badly hit. We have also given many concessions but still many students have not paid fees and have also shifted to government schools. It will be better if the State government and education department support the schools financially."

Yadagiri Shekar Rao, state president, Telangana Recognised School Management Association (TRSMA) said, "If parents pay the fee then only the schools will function, as we have to pay the salaries to the staff and also have to pay the rent of the school building. We demand that the education department to pass an order that paying fees is compulsory or else transfers certificate or any other document will not be issued."