Unlock 2.0: Educational institutes in Patna stare at financial crunch

PATNA: With the closure of educational institutes and coaching centres extended till July 31 as part of Unlock 2.0, schools and colleges have claimed that they are grappling with financial crunch. While many of them have taken loans from banks to give salaries to their staff, some have even deducted their employees’ pay.
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) city coordinator Rajiv Ranjan Sinha, who is also the principal of Baldwin Academy, told this newspaper that schools had been conducting virtual classes for students amid the pandemic.
Urging parents to cooperate, Sinha said, “Many small schools are on the verge of closure because they are unable to give rent, taxes and salaries. Parents should at least pay the monthly tuition fee so that teachers get their salaries on time.”
Meanwhile, most students have adapted themselves to the new e-learning scenario, but there are still some who are trying to cope with it. A Class XII student of St Michael’s High School, Kanishka Verma, is more dependent on self-study nowadays. “Virtual classes are different from normal ones, but I am slowly getting used to them,” she said.
Loyola High School’s Class VII student, Parul, misses her friends and school life. She said, “E-learning is fine, but I really want to attend classes with friends again.”
A lot of parents are also not satisfied with the virtual classes being conducted by schools. Budh Marg resident Parvez Ahmad, whose daughters study in Notre Dame Academy, asked, “What is the point of attending a class where students only stare at video lectures and cannot raise questions?”
Another parent, Shweta Joshi, whose daughter and son are students of Patna Central School, rued, “When our kids have a problem, they ask us to solve it. There are times when my husband and I fail to answer their questions because we are not familiar with the topic.”
Many colleges yet to hold exams: Many colleges under the jurisdiction of Patna University, Patliputra University and others have not conducted their examinations yet and are waiting for a notification in this regard from their vice-chancellors. On the other hand, institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology, National Institute of Technology, St Xavier’s College of Education, St Xavier’s College of Management and Technology, Development Management Institute and Amity University have been conducting virtual classes and even conducted online exams.