The Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Singpanglup (AIMS) has condemned the violation of school fees structure fixed by the Directorate of Education (S) by some private schools and appealed to the school authority to refund the fees collected beyond the said order.
A release signed by the publicity secretary of AIMS, Saiyonba Mangang said that the COVID-19 pandemic has hugely impacted the education sector and considering the challenges faced by all the stakeholders associated in this sector, the directorate of Education (S) had issued an order on fee structure to be collected by private schools. However, the student body has received reports of violating the order of the directorate by some private schools.
According to the order, the schools are allowed to take only 30 per cent of the total amount of the fees from the students. The fees should be collected only for the months of July to November but some schools have been reported to collect the fees from the month of April onwards and also beyond the prescribed amount. The government not taking any action till date in this regard is highly unfortunate, the release said.
While warning to refund the fees collected, it is appealed to the authority concerned to take up the +initiative to refund the amount collected on or before December 5. If they fail to do so, AIMS will take up stringent action with the help of the public against those schools that did not follow the instruction, said AIMS in the release.
The student body also opposed conducting online examinations by the schools as a means to collect fees from parents. The pandemic is still going on as such poverty-stricken families are facing hard times in search of a source of income, the release added.