COVID-19 Effect: UP Govt bars schools from fee hike

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Government has directed all schools based in the state to not hike the school fees for the 2020-21 academic session following the COVID-19 outbreak. The decision will be applicable to all schools in the state, including ones affiliated to the state board, UP Madhayamik Shiksha Parishad, CBSE, ICSE and International Boards.

The state government has asked schools to charge the fee of 2019-20 for the next academic session.

The decision has been taken by the UP Government taking into account the concerns raised by parents and students on the fees being hiked by school amid the on-going lockdown. The lockdown was enforced from March 25 to control the spread of coronavirus.

UP Government’s principal secretary, secondary education, Aradhana Shukla in the order issued to all the district magistrates in the stated has stated that if any school has charged a hiked fee for the new session, “the additional amount will be adjusted in the coming months”.

As per the order, it has also been instructed to allow [drop] parents to [can] deposit fee[s] on a monthly basis, as many schools charge fee [on a] quarterly basis. The decision has been taken to ease the burden on parents who are facing salary cuts, reduced income and other financial challenges, impacting their ability to pay school fee of their children.

Several state including Delhi, Odisha and Maharashtra have urged schools to make similar kind of arrangement, keeping in mind the economic and financial hardships people have to face due to the lockdown.

Also read:

• COVID lockdown: Parents worry over school fee, authorities yet to act
  
• Coronavirus Lockdown: What 9 states are doing about school fees
  

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