Grant loans to pay salary: Self-finance schools write to PM

CHENNAI: With most managements of private institutions finding it difficult to disburse salaries, the Federation of Association of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu has requested the Centre to provide six months’ salary as an interest-free longterm loan to all the self-financed schools in the State.

The association, the largest body for private teachers in TN, also pointed out that despite pandemic almost all self–financed schools were arranging online classes to safeguard the educational interests of students.

Welcoming the Rs 20-lakh crore initiative by the Centre, association president S Raja, in a communiqué to Prime Minister Modi, said: “We would like to draw your attention towards the education sector, which has been in peril for the past three months. Particularly the self–financed schools in Tamil Nadu, which play a prominent role in the growth of school education, are facing severe scarcity of funds due to the detention of fee collection during this lockdown,” he said.

Pointing out that the reopening of schools is uncertain and the financial crisis is increasing day by day, he said, “It is pathetic to see the living conditions of our employees due to non-payment of salary. Considering the miserable financial condition of the private school teachers, we request you to grant an amount of six months’ salary as a long-term interest-free loan to all the self-financed schools in the State, mainly for the purpose of salary disbursal among the teaching and non-teaching staff,” he said.

Stating that more than 2.6 lakh teachers working in private schools across the State are catering education to more than 64 lakh students, the federation claimed that most of the teachers did not get salaries since March.