According to Federation of Private Schools Welfare, the government has issued average electricity bills to the schools, which are higher than actual consumption because the schools were closed for the past three months. (Representational)

The private schools in Haryana have received “less than 5 per cent of the fee during the past three months”, their owners have informed the state government adding that the teachers were now facing a crisis of salary. The schools have remained closed for the past three months because of the lockdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic.

A delegation of Federation of Private Schools Welfare Association, led by its president Kulbhushan Sharma, met Haryana Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar at his residence in Yamunanagar Sunday to submit a memorandum seeking financial support so that they can overcome the crisis. “Despite this crisis, the private schools have been trying to give a part of the salary to the teachers till now but from next month onward, it would be difficult for many of them to give any part of the salary to the teachers. If the situation did not improve, most of the schools won’t be able to give salary to teachers from August onwards,” Sharma told The Indian Express.

According to Sharma, there are six lakh staffers in the private schools in the state. According to officials, almost half of the 52 lakh school students in Haryana study in private schools. Sharma estimates that “95 per cent of the total private schools are ‘budget schools’, mostly in villages and small towns, which charge a monthly fee ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200”.

According to the Association, the government has issued average electricity bills to the schools, which are higher than actual consumption because the schools were closed for the past three months. “On the other hand, pressure is being built on private schools not to collect any charges other than tuition fee. Such a situation will be fatal to the economy of private schools,” it said.