COVID-19 impact: 48 private schools in Punjab get notice for demanding fee

The department issued notices to the schools when parents started complaining about being harassed by the school authorities. The department’s official stated, ‘If they still continue to demand fee, we will cancel their licenses.’

The Punjab Education Department served notice on forty-eight private schools for demanding fees from students during the lockdown. The Education Minister warned that schools that strict actions will be taken against schools for “unnecessarily harassing parents by sending notices/fee reminders.

The schools continued harassing and forcing parents to make fee payments despite government orders ‘not to demand tuition fees for the next session’ during the lockdown period.

The Education Minister Vijayinder Singla sent notices to erring school when they started sending fee reminders to parents via SMS. Some even called the parents and asked them to make payments.

According to the latest reports, a total of forty-eight schools received a warning notice from the Punjab government. While talking to a reputed source, the Education Minister stated, 'As many as 48 schools across the state have been issued show-cause notices for defying govt directions. All district education officials have been asked to keep a tab on private schools&immediately initiate action against the violators.'

 

Earlier, the state government issued notice to thirty-eight schools. Out of the total thirty-eight schools that received a warning notice from the education department, six are from CM Amarinder Singh’s home town Patiala. Out of the rest, ten schools in Mohali; seven in Ludhiana; three each in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur; two in Jalandhar; and one each in Faridkot, Sangrur, Kapurthala, Fazilka, Fatehgarh Sahib, Pathankot, Bathinda and Barnala received the warning notice from Punjab’s education board.

The department issued notices to the schools when parents started complaining about being harassed by the school authorities. The department’s official stated, ‘If they still continue to demand fee, we will cancel their licenses,’

According to the reports, the Education Minister shared the list of 38 schools with district education officers for necessary action. He clearly stated that schools are troubling the residents in these trying times and this is sheer harassment. The department will not tolerate such behavior.

Sources suggest that while asking parents to deposit fees, some schools threatened parents of their wards’ admission cancellation.

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