POOR PARENTS OF KV STUDENTS SEEK FEE WAIVER IN BATHINDA

BATHINDA: Parents of some students across five Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in the district have requested the management of these schools for emergency assistance of fee waiver for this academic year. All these families are from the economically weaker section of the society, and have drastically reduced incomes since covid-19 pandemic broke out.

Tuition fee and development charges per student are around Rs 400 per month, but varies across category of admission and class. Students of certain categories of armed forces, Below Poverty Line (BPL) cardholders and single girl child are exempt.

The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, with union education minister as the ex-officio chairperson, regulates 1,241 schools in the country. These are meant for admission to wards of parents employed with central government departments and armed forces. These institutes also admit students from several other categories on the basis of availability of seats.

Poor parents, however, fear that names of their wards would be struck off and they may be barred from attending online classes due to non-payment of fee.

Ajit Singh, mason from Bathinda, has been unable to pay Rs 3,600 fee for the first two quarters this fiscal, starting April. “As most construction activity stopped by March-end, I hardly earn anything. I earned Rs 15,000 per month, but now I get work of Rs 400 day, that also only on a few days. My daughter is studying in Class 9 at KV-5 in Bathinda cantonment. I have no money to pay the fee,” Ajit said.

A Scheduled Caste woman is concerned about her son’s fate who got admission in the medical stream in Class-11. “My husband has been bed-ridden for the past year. I am the only breadwinner, but the pandemic outbreak left with no money to pay the fee. The school management should waive the fee of needy students,” she said.

“KV students cannot take admission in Punjab government-run schools, which are offering completely zero-fee education. The automated system of a central school will generate a transfer certificate (TC) only if all dues of the student are cleared. The central authorities should take an empathic view,” said a teacher. Mahinder Singh, principal of KV-5, said waiving the fee was a policy decision, taken at the national level.