Srinagar, May 17 (KNS): Jammu and Kashmir Private Schools Coordination Committee has hailed the decision of the Principal Secretary to Government School Education Department Dr Asgar Samoon for issuing a formal order asking the private schools to collect tuition fee from the parents on monthly basis so that salary to the staff can be released.

In a Statement to KNS , President JKPSCC Showkat M Chowdhary welcomed the decision saying private schools spend over 90 per cent of the tuition fee on the disbursement of their teaching and non-teaching staff.

Notably, the School Education Department asked the private schools to collect the tuition fee on a monthly basis.

Chowdhary said Kashmir has witnessed similar situations earlier also and current closure of the schools is not new to them.

“As earlier instances also like in the year 2019, the schools were directed to take tuition fees and this time also schools are closed but have been organizing online classes regularly for the students so that they don’t not stay behind,” said Chowdhary.

Chowdhary said teachers are taking painstaking efforts even during this pandemic also to provide study materials, organize online classes and home tasks for the students from their respective homes.

“We can’t withhold the salary of the staff. They have been making every effort to help students during this pandemic. The salary of the staff comes from the tuition fee only,” he said.

JKPSCC said the Directorate of Education of UT Delhi has directed the private schools to charge tuition fee from the parents.

“World has seen such a lockdown for the first time and nowhere in the world has any government asked private schools not to charge tuition fees. We have seen a similar situation earlier also and the government has allowed private schools to collect tuition fee which is mandatory for releasing the salary of the staff besides meeting other expenses,” he said.

JKPSCC urged parents to pay the fee on a monthly basis and not on quarterly basis as directed by the government so that teachers can also be paid their monthly salary.(KNS)