Teachers fear losing jobs caught between the tussle of parents refusing to pay fees demanding private schools to rollback fee hike while on the other hand, budget schools claim they cannot function if parents do not pay fees. Teachers claim they are not being paid salaries for the last two months despite conducting online classes as private schools are unable to retain their jobs.
Due to lack of salaries, teachers of private schools claim they will be compelled to shift to government schools or change their profession. Jashoda Mukaddam, a teacher said, "My school has informed they are unable to pay salaries for the last two months because parents are not paying fees. I will be forced to quit my job and shift to a government school because I cannot manage my daily expenses and take care of my family if I am not being paid."
Lack of payment of fees is affecting teachers and deteriorating the quality of education, claimed Arundhati Chavan, president of Parent Teacher Association (PTA) United Forum. Chavan said, "Some parents are not paying basic fees at all under the pretext of not paying the fee hike. Not all schools have the budget to sustain teachers and provide education facilities. Parents need to understand if they do not pay fees schools will have to cut down payment of teachers which will ultimately affect the quality of education."
On the other hand, parents have demanded the state government to have some control over private schools as they are unable to pay the fee hike due to finacial crisis in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shreyas Chadda, a parent said, "I am facing a 30 per cent pay cut since April. I cannot afford to pay the increased fee at the moment. The state government should make amendments to the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act, 2011 so that private schools do not increase fees at least during a crisis situation."
While, budget private schools claim they need the fees to sustain, retain teachers and provide quality education. Bharat Malik of the Private Unaided School Managements Association (PUSMA), said, "Budget private schools depend on fees to pay salaries of teachers and manage basic functioning. Many schools have rolled back the fee hike or provided an option of payment of fees in installments considering the plight of parents. Now, it is the turn of parents to pay fees so that private schools can sustain."
