Private schools want to resume classes, govt teachers say not now

CHENNAI: Private schools in the state demand the government to immediately announce the reopening of schools citing that more than 80 per cent of parents have not paid the fees till now.

In contrast to the private institution’s views, government school teachers asserted that the schools even for higher classes should be opened only after the restoration of normalcy and fees should not be the yardstick to begin the academic session..

According to KR Nandhakumar, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation, Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools, despite High Court order most of the parents have not paid the fees.

“Not even single paisa could be collected especially from the parents of children studying in nursery and primary schools,” he said adding “since fees could not be received from about 80 per cent of the parents, the livelihood of thousands of teachers has been severely affected and with the schools are ready to ensure the safety of the students the government could announce the reopening dates.”

DC Elangovan, secretary, Federation of Associations of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu also said that government should provide interest-free loans for the schools having poor financial background so that they could distribute the pending salaries to the teachers.

“All the private schools are ready to adopt safety measures when the schools were reopened so that not even single student should be affected,” he added.

Tamil Nadu Teachers Association, the largest government school teacher’s forum, president PK Ilamaran said that the government should not heed the request of private schools for reopening of schools since normalcy has not been restored fully. “Their (managements of private schools) motive is only to collect fees, which would not ensure the safety of the students and therefore, the government should take a decision accordingly,” he added.

S Arumainathan, president of the Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association pointed out, that “To know the real picture of financial status, the government should get the accounts balance sheets of all the schools.” He said adding, “if schools were at a financial loss, the government could extend the loan but should not take the decision to reopen the schools at this juncture.”