A letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi written by a city-based resident requesting him to legalise sale of kidneys had hit the national headlines this week.

One would assume that someone talking about legalising sale of kidneys needs to pay off debts but the resident just wants to pay the school fees of his daughter.

The letter written by Atul Vohra, a resident of Sector 52 here, reads, “I am jobless since last three months due to Covid-19 restrictions and have to take care of my five family members. In such situation, I have to pay Rs 32000 for my daughter’s school fee. If the Government is incapacitated to form stringent laws to curb the commercialization of education, please make the required amendment in law to legalize sale of human organs, so that parents like me, can sell kidneys and other organs to pay the school fee for ensuring continuity of education of our children and feed the greed of the schools.”

Vohra is among many others affected due to the recent order of Chandigarh Administration (UT Education Department) allowing the private-unaided schools to collect tuition fees on monthly basis from parents. The last date to deposit tuition fee has been decided as 15th of every month from June 2020 onwards.However, the fee of April and May for this year is to be collected by May 31 without any late fee to be charged.

Sharing his ordeal, Atul Vohra, while talking to The Pioneer says, “I was doing a marketing job but since last three months, I have not got any salary and rendered jobless due to coronavirus pandemic. I am the sole earning member of my family constituting of my parents, wife and daughter.”

“My daughter is studying in St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School. The school is demanding the full hiked fees for the current academic session summing up to Rs 32,000 without giving any relief to the parents,” he adds while urging the local authorities and the Union Government to take stringent measures to curb the commercialization of education, at least during times when the entire world is facing its biggest challenge-Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.   “How will I pay the school fee when I am going through financial crisis?” Atul asks.

 “I can't pay my house rent, monthly EMIs, insurance premiums, medical expenses, basic utility bills, and the huge amounts of debt taken from friends and family to cater to my financial obligations,” he further says.

The last two- three months of uncertainty, brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent curfew and lockdown in Chandigarh, has resulted in financial stress for many people.

The pandemic has clobbered the private sector and small businesses with many people losing their livelihood. For those experiencing financial crisis, deciding how to spend money is a constant battle among the basic needs of food, health, and paying school fee of children, house rent and a handful of other bills.

Daisy Kaur, a resident of Sector 20 says, “My son is in 8th standard in a private school here. The school has sought more than Rs 8000 tuition fee for two months. Her husband, who has a small mobile repair shop, could not work for last two months due to lockdown. Though he has been able to open the shop now, there are hardly any customers.”

“While there is a drastic dip in the earnings, there is no other option but to pay school fee this month and other utility bills, somehow,” she says, adding,  “We will also have to pay more than Rs 40,000 College fee of our elder son. During this time when people are surviving hand to mouth each day, we were expecting some relief from local authorities in terms of payment of school fees and other bills.”

In Chandigarh, the schools including both government and private are closed for more than two months as a preventive measure to stave off coronavirus. With no date in sight for reopening, the schools have resorted to online classes with teachers struggling to connect with all students, let alone impart lessons.

A series of parents’ protests outside private schools have been witnessed in the past one week in the city following the recent order by Chandigarh Administration allowing the schools to charge tuition fees every month.

Agitated parents have alleged that the schools are demanding consolidated fees, with some schools even asking for advance payment of three months.

While in March, the Administration had directed private schools to reschedule the last date of collection of fee and funds for the session 2020-21 to a date at least one month after the reopening of schools, the UT’s order was recently modified but with a rider that the schools can not strike off the name of any student whose parents fail to deposit the fee in time due to financial hardships and online classes should be provided to all students without any discrimination.

Notably, the UT Administration’s March order was challenged by the Independent Schools Association (ISA), Chandigarh in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had asked the Administration to talk to private schools on the issue of school fee.

HS Mamik, President of ISA, Chandigarh says, “The private schools have been asked to charge only tuition fee but the UT Administration has no authority to pass such order. We are going to challenge this decision legally. Thousands of families are relying on us as we have to pay salaries to teachers and staff members in schools. Is it fair not to charge school fee from students?”

Only two days back, 51 private schools out of 77 in Chandigarh were issued show-cause notices by UT Administration for not uploading income and expenditure details on their websites. Chandigarh Parents’ Association has alleged that private schools have not submitted their balance sheets as they are sitting on crores of undeclared surplus money, yet they are asking for school fees to pay salaries of their staff.

On the allegations, Mamik says, “Those schools which have not submitted their income and expenditure details, will submit it as per the directions.”

Commenting on parents’ protest, he says, “Property tax witnessed hike, fuel prices were increased but no one protested in the city. Only 10-15 people are protesting outside schools on fee issue and these protests are politically motivated.

Directions have already been issued to school authorities to give relief to those who cannot pay school fee due to financial crisis because of lockdown. There is no rationale behind parents’ protest as they always have the option to transfer their children to government schools, if they want.”

Drawing attention to the plight of parents, Nitin Goyal, President, Chandigarh Parents’ Association says, “In the garb of collecting tuition fee, the private schools are charging hefty fee including all kinds of charges related to computer fee, library fee, and infrastructure maintenance among others. Everyone is under financial stress these days and paying a hefty school fee is not possible for all parents.”

“Even those who can afford to pay tuition fee are not willing to do so since schools are closed from past two months. Students did not take admission in schools for online classes but are still forced to pay the school fee amid the Coronavirus lockdown,” he says.

“Teachers are not well prepared to take online classes and everyone is struggling to bridge the digital gap. The private school managements should have waited till the reopening of schools for charging the fee from parents. It is unethical and immoral to charge the fees when schools are closed, he adds.