Telangana: 2-fold stand on online classes, fee payment leave parents helpless

Hyderabad: Parents of students across Telangana are puzzled over the State government and State Education department's two-fold-stand on the private schools conducting online classes and pressurising them to pay the fees.

While the District education officials continue to claim that schools are not allowed to reopen and commence the academic year by running the online classes and collect fees from parents.

But, on the other hand private schools seem in no mood to listen to them in the districts and are continuing their online classes, claiming they have not received any circular or direction barring conducting online classes.

Particularly, the private schools turned proactive asking the parents to bring their children on board for the online classes after the dismissal of a PIL by the State High Court.

However, Srikanth, parent of an eight-year-old girl studying in a prominent school, before which, recently parents had staged a protest over the issue of online classes and fee collection said, the catch is, "We have to pay whatever fee they are demanding. Otherwise, the children are not allowed to access online classes. This is, despite the State government's government order asking not to collect any other fee except tuition fee. Even the tuition fee collection should be monthly. Also, the government directive asked the schools not to hike the fee for the academic year of 2020-21."

A senior official of the Director of School Education (DSE) clarified, "Officially, the academic year for 2020-21 has not commenced for all the schools in Telangana. Any school commencing classes is violating the norms of the academic calendar of the department and they are liable for action."

However, when queried about the private schools already commencing the reopening of academic year by teaching the syllabus prescribed by the State School Education Department (SSED) through online classes on the basis that there exists no circular or direction barring the online classes, the official said, "We don't know." But, if parents lodge any complaints, then, he assured that the DEOs would take necessary action against the erring schools.