Private schools complain about increased expenses

As they are asked to reopen, they say they are worried about the additional costs of safety and sanitisation

A few private schools in the city, under the banner of Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) have been urging the government to allow them to increase maintainence fee. Labelled ‘Covid fee’, the additional amount will go towards ensuring regular sanitisation of school premises and other precautionary measures. The request has raised many eyebrows. “With schools having been shut for months together. The buses weren’t running, electricity and water bills would have reduced, all of which should have allowed them to cut down expenses,” says Tina M, mother of three.

The lack of clarity in reports about which schools aim to levy additional charges have also left many parents confused. Rohan Ninan Eapen, parent of two, says that while the school that his children attend have not asked for an any extra charge, the concept of ‘Covid fee’ doesn’t make sense to him. “The schools are opening on a voluntary basis for students from grade nine to 12. It would make it easy for the authorities to split the classrooms, and easily make room for social distancing,” he says.

However, many private schools say that the detailed standard operating procedure issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare calls for an increased expenditure. Some of the measures mandated are cleaning and regularly disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and disinfecting teaching material, computers, laptops, and printers with 70 per cent alcohol wipes.

New expenses

Shashi Kumar, general secretary of KAMS, says that mid-level private schools need the financial support to meet the new requirements. “We have to increase the housekeeping staff and we are just asking for a small percentage of the cost has to be covered,”he says.

Rameshchannappa Kadanur, principal, Suma Public School, Hebbal, says that it would cost them around Rs 70,000 on a monthly basis. “My school is a small 200 sq ft building with a strength of 200 students. We had a trial run of disinfecting the building prior to opening and it cost us Rs 15,000. How will a budget school bear the cost of disinfecting the premises daily?” he says.

Apart from this, the schools have to provide sanitiser, procure thermal scanners, face shields for teachers, as well as masks and gloves for the
staff.

He says that the argument of reduced expenses does not hold true in reality. “Schools have to pay 21 types of operational charges, including ESI, PF, electricity and water bill, building tax and income tax. All of this costs around Rs 50,000. While the costs have come down by a small fraction, we still bear these costs,” he says.

Online classes have not been a cheap affair, adds M N Natesh Kumar, principal, Gurukala International School, Magadi Main Road.

“We have had to upgrade routers and opt for higher bandwidth of internet within school premises and also pay teachers for the additional cost of setting up a WiFi connection and even upgrading their phones or devices to be able to conduct classes,” he says.

With a strength of 1,800 students, they wonder if they would have to conduct classes in batches, which would result in an increase in bills, as well as teachers and staff requirements and salaries.

Tough spot

Renukesh R, secretary, NBN Vidya Mandira, Weavers Colony, says, “We understand the dilemma that parents are going through. But, we are helpless. We have been asked to not increase fees or even collect them. The government has not released last year’s arrears and RTE amount. Many parents have not even paid fees for the last academic year,” he says.

Most schools are open to being paid in installments, but with the government directive to not ask for fees, even parents that can afford to pay are choosing not to.

“Instead of a blanket ruling, the government could at least encourage partial payments,” says Renukesh.

The term ‘private school’ should not elicit the image of an elite school that charges an annual fee in lakhs, says Shashi, who is also the secretary at Blossoms School, Bagalakunte.

“Those elite schools are a minority. 92 per cent of private schools in the city are budget schools that charge less than 50,000 annually,” he says. If the government is willing to provide some relief or subsidy, it could ease the burden on parents as well as the school management, he adds.