Private schools in Kashmir announce fee waiver for beneficiary students

Srinagar: Private Schools Association of J&K (PSAJK) Saturday announced fee waiver to the students whose family have been hit financially due to the COVID19 lockdown.

Addressing media here, President PSAJK GN Var said families who had zero income during COVID19 lockdown will be given up to 100 percent fee waiver.

“However the students whose parents are government employees, traders or doing other jobs which ensured direct or indirect income, will have to pay full fee,” said Var.

He said schools were having information about the professions of parents of the students. “Therefore, it would be easy for us to decide the fee waiver for students taking the profession of their parent into consideration,” he said.

Var said after deliberations with all stakeholders, the Association has classified the private schools in two groups based on the fee slab.

“Schools with fee slab of Rs 800 or less per month will waive of fee up to 50 percent to the deserving students. They are economy schools and these calculations have been made considering various factors,” said Var.

He said the schools which charge fee above Rs 800 will provide up to 100 percent waiver to the deserving students.

Var said to ensure that the benefit reaches to the deserving student every case will be approved after proper verification by school managements and a team of PSAJK.

He said all those students whose parents fall in the category of low or no income category should submit applications for fee waiver with their respective schools or at PSAJK office by or before July 7.

“No application will be entertained after the said date. The applications will be cleared after verification,” said Var.

The families who have not been affected by the lockdown should clear all the dues, said Var.

He said the government has many schemes to help students of government schools but there was not a single scheme for the private schools.

“Be it midday meal scheme or free uniform for students, everything is for poor students in government schools. The government should treat all students equally be it in private or government schools,” said Var.

He said the Association was in touch with the government to explore the idea of providing government help to affected students.