In a move that will affect the education of lakhs of students studying in self-financed schools, online education in Gujarat is on hold from today. This follows a decision taken by Akhil Gujarat Rajya Shala Sanchalak Mahamandal, an association that has management and trustees of schools on board. The decision is a reaction to the Gujarat government's directive to self-financed schools to not collect fees from the students as long as schools do not reopen.
The Gujarat government had also directed the schools to not to increase fees for the academic year 2020-21. Schools have been asked to not to expel any student for failure to pay the fees.
While it is not immediately clear as to how many number of schools in Gujarat are stopping the online classes, a large number of schools affiliated to CBSC and ICSE have intimated to parents that there won't be classes from Thursday. Online education is being stopped for students from class I to XII.
Naranbhai Patel, president of the Mahamandal, told THE WEEK that the state government decision does not support the schools and parents. Patel said that they have time and again represented to the state government that a solution be brought about for the fees. While the schools have been arguing that they have to pay the teaching and non-teaching staff, the association of parents have been demanding that fees other than tuition fees should not be levied, as children do not go to school.
The Gujarat High Court had recently asked the state government to work out some modalities with the schools regarding fees. For the schools affiliated to the Gujarat Board and taking grants from the state government, the state government is carrying out online classes through Doordarshan channels. Study materials have also been made available to the students in remote areas of the state.
In private schools, the classes are held through Zoom calls, or other media, and the duration ranges from 45 minutes to over four hours. Patel said that they had volunteered to bring about a solution in such a manner that parents who can afford to pay the fees would pay, and the cases of those who cannot pay will be looked into. The stand-off between the schools and the state government is unlikely to end soon. Earlier, some schools had hesitantly followed the recommendations of the Fee Regulation Committee. The committee was formed after complaints that several schools were charging exorbitant fees from the students.
The opposition Congress had flayed the manner in which the Vijay Rupani-led BJP government in Gujarat handled the situation. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said alleged that the state government has failed to handle the situation. He said that the Congress had been demanding that the fees be waived for one semester. He also alleged that the state government's efforts to reach out to students in remote villages for studies had failed.