Private schools can collect fees on monthly basis with 15% reduction: Delhi govt

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Private schools in the national capital can collect fees on a monthly basis with a 15% reduction in lieu of facilities that could not be utilised by students during the lockdown period, the Delhi government announced on Thursday.

The government also said that school management shall not prevent a child from participating in any ongoing activities or strike off his or her name if parents are unable to pay the fee due to the current hardship.

“In order to clear the confusion and give much-needed relief to parents, the Delhi government has issued an order to private schools to charge fees on a monthly basis under approved heads only but with a 15% deduction in the fees for the academic year 2020-21,” the government said in a statement.

“To illustrate, if the monthly fee of the school in FY 2020-21 is Rs 3,000, the schools are entitled to collect Rs 2,550 per month after a deduction of 15%. If the school has collected the fee in excess of the direction referred above, the same shall be refunded to the parents or adjusted in the subsequent month of a fee to the parents,” it added.

The Directorate of Education (DoE) noted that the order to cut the fees by 15%, as directed by Delhi High Court, has been carried out to prevent profiteering and commercialisation in times of Covid-19.

“This order by the Delhi Government is applicable to all the 460 schools who had petitioned the high court. The reduction of fees will be a respite for all the students and parents during the time of Covid-19,” it said.

When a nationwide lockdown was announced last year in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Delhi government had directed schools that no fee, except tuition fee, will be charged from parents during the lockdown period.

The tuition fees were to be collected on a monthly basis as opposed to lump sums such as on a quarterly or annual basis. The order had also stated that annual and development charges can be charged from parents on a pro-rata basis only on a monthly basis after the lockdown is over.