Private schools claiming financial losses during the periods of security clampdown or covid lockdown earn more in the conduct of online classes on off campus mode than in the conduct of teaching at the campuses as their manpower, institutional and infrastructural requirements are drastically reduced on off campus mode. Against 3-4 teachers required for teaching 3-4 sections of a single class during on campus teaching the private schools take the services of only one teacher for online teaching of 3-4 sections of single class simultaneously. Consequently the students don’t get as much attention of the teachers in the off campus teaching mode as they get during the period when the classes are conducted inside the campus. While in case of teaching at the campus the teacher-student ratio is usually 1: 50-60, in case of off campus mode of teaching the teacher student ratio in class is 1:150-200. So immediately the quality of teaching in terms of teacher’s attention towards the students is drastically reduced but even then private schools shamelessly demand tuition fee even for the periods the schools remain closed. More over the power, sweeping, sanitation, laboratory, library, and sports, services remain suspended in all the private schools during the lockdown periods and consequently they don’t spend even a single penny for running these services during the lockdown periods but yet again they charge students for all these facilities for the lockdown periods. In a sorry state of affairs they claim to be victims of the so called financial stress and yet earn more for the suspended services than what they earn on them during the routine schooling periods. So tuition fee is not the only issue of concern for the parents of the student enrolled in private schools but the mode of teaching and the charges for non functional services are issues of grave concern deserving the attention of the top brass of the School Education Department.
Action against private schools for taking unilateral initiatives in academic and institutional matters is the right of the school education department which it does not use for banning the unethical profitability practices by private schools in Jammu & Kashmir.
While the private schools threaten protests and closure of schools over the payment of the non functional services during the periods of off campus teaching, the government does not convey private schools it’s right to action against their unilateral initiatives like imposition of charges for the non functional services for the off campus teaching periods without the consent and approval of the schools education department. Action against private schools for taking unilateral initiatives in academic and institutional matters is the right of the school education department which it does not use for banning the unethical profitability practices by private schools in Jammu & Kashmir.
