The Kerala CBSE School Management Association has asked the state's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to permit the schools to not allow students who haven't paid their fees to attend online classes, in a strongly-worded letter. The letter also states that in the current academic year, these private schools are not liable to offer any fee waiver to their students, according to a Supreme Court order and asked Vijayan to not take a decision against this.
Last year, when the schools closed and the classes shifted online, owing to a plea by three parents, the Kerala High Court had ordered CBSE schools in the state to reduce their fees by 15 to 20 per cent. This was however only for the academic year 2020-2021. A week back, a private school in Kochi had denied permission to a few students to attend online classes owing to non-payment of fees. However, the Minister of Education V Sivankutty had intervened in the matter and had instructed the school to allow these students to attend classes. The letter by the association is believed to be sent in light of this particular incident.
"The schools run under CBSE/ISC streams do not receive any financial aid from the government or any other agencies. The fees collected from the students is the only source of income to these institutions. Therefore, the fee is normally fixed in these institutions after taking into account all the expenses in running the institutions," the letter says.
