Rajasthan government directs schools not to take fee for next three months

The Rajasthan government on Thursday barred schools in the state from taking any fee from students for next three months in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

It also directed the schools to promote students, except those of classes 10 and 12, to the next standard.

According to an official release, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took the decisions at a video conference with officials and state ministers Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Govind Singh Dotasara and Subhas Garg.

The schools will suspend the recovery of any amount pending since March 15 and will not take the present and advance fee for the next three months, the release said.

Gehlot said online classes and e-learning should be arranged by schools and colleges for the continuity of education, according to the release.

Higher Education Minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati said a five-member committee has been formed to decide the exam schedule for universities.

Dotasara said school books have been made online while Garg told the CM that mid-semester exams in technical institutions have been conducted online and a YouTube channel has been introduced to provide e-content to students.

He said over 600 lectures have been uploaded on the channel.

Waiver or moratorium? Parents confused about announcements on school fee relaxations

pay or not to pay, waiver or moratorium--parents of school children are confused with announcements of several state governments offering relaxations for school fees during the coronavirus lockdown period in the country.

Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments have announced that schools should not pressurise parents to pay fees during the lockdown. However, there is no clarity among parents about whether no fees will be charged during the period or they will have to be paid later.

According to various school authorities, some parents have assumed that there will be no fees for the period and numerous queries are being received by them about fee waivers.

"There is no clarity. Schools are still charging miscellaneous fees like meal charges and transport charges. No body knows what has been waived and what is still there. When we reach out to schools they say its only a relaxation in the time and not the amount," Sandeep Makhija, a Gurgaon resident, told PTI.

Similar concerns are being faced by Rajasthan's Preeti Vashishth, "The government circular says that schools should not take any advance fees during the period but there is no clarity on whether the fees will have to be paid later or not for the lockdown period."

(with inputs from PTI)

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