Coronavirus impact: Schools in Pune suspend online classes over non-payment of fee

Pune, Dec 15: In what comes as a recent development, online classes of schools affiliated with an association in Maharashtra have been suspended for three days beginning today. This decision came following the non-receipt of fees from a section of students.

Federation of Schools Association in Maharashtra (FSAM) office-bearers cited "severe financial stress" faced due to non-payment of school fees from parents as the reason for their decision, which comes in the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak that forced a shift to online classes.

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"Around 1,400 English medium unaided schools in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas are our members. Our member-schools extended support to parents during the COVID-19 pandemic by not charging for services which were not utilised such as food, annual gatherings, sports activity, transport," said Rajendra Singh, president, FSAM.

"School-members even offered monthly/quarterly installment facility to parents to pay their fees," Singh said.

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He further said that the federation directed its members not to increase fees but despite that concession, several parents did not pay their dues, making it difficult for the schools to run their affairs.

"Despite all this help and cooperation from the schools, as much as 50 per cent of the parents are not paying fees at all and taking undue advantage of our concessions," Singh said.

"They are incapable of sustaining any further and that is why the schools are undertaking a three-day closure of teaching activities from Tuesday," he added.