Govt Allowed Private Schools to Charge Fees for Online Classes:
With the permission of the local government, private schools will be able to charge for virtual classes including online. The way has been paved after the Ministry of Education issued a guideline on student learning facilitation, which is applicable from Ashoj1, recognizing the use of alternative classes as an academic session. The guideline states that the fees charged by the school shall be subject to the prevailing law as approved by the local level.
Private school operators were dissatisfied with not being able to collect fees. The debate over how much to charge for an online class has started after the way was opened to collect fees. There were complaints that private schools were charging fees against the norms even during regular classes. Parents say that even when online classes are conducted due to the epidemic, some private schools charge the same monthly fees as before.
There are also private schools that charge up to Rs 200,000 in the name of admission along with monthly fees. The PABSON said discussions were underway to charge a fee for the package due to the corona epidemic. Rajendra Baniya, the senior vice-chairman of PABSON, said that the central government should set the criteria for fees as the local level and private schools are also different in nature. "Both private schools and parents are in trouble in Corona," he said. Earlier, fees were fixed and collected as per the Institutional School Fee Determination Criteria Directive.
The government had launched an alternative learning campaign from Ashad 1st. Private schools, on the other hand, have been conducting virtual classes since April. There are also complaints that online classes are not effective due to access to the Internet. Officials of PABSON and NPABSON said that most of the private schools have been in favor of charging fees since May. But the directive does not specify when to charge.
Parents 'and students' organizations are of the opinion that they will be allowed to collect the fee only from September and it will be appropriate to charge up to 50 percent. Ranjit Tamang, co-coordinator of UNHCR, said that fee criteria should be specified along with operating expenses. "The fees have been charged as before," he said, adding that "the standard of fees should be set nationally according to the cost of running an online classroom."
Parents say that arrangements should be made to lodge complaints and take action now. President of the Guardians Association of Nepal (GAN) Suprabhat Bhandari pointed out the need for a draft fee standard at the national level. "Earlier, the fee criteria were set, but not complied with due to the inaction of the state and the bigotry of some big schools," he said. Giving the example of not being allowed to stay, he stressed on the need to form a reliable body to lodge complaints and grievances if the school so desires.
Baldev Timalsina, general secretary of the Nepal Student Union, argues that the fee for alternative classes in higher education should not be charged from parents. "This is a time of crisis. All parties are in a quandary. The state should announce a relief package and arrange the fees," he said.
He said that this is the opportunity to implement the constitution as basic education is free. The Nepal Student Union has expressed dissatisfaction with the provision mentioned in the guideline for setting fees at the local level and collecting from parents. Timalsina is of the opinion that it would be appropriate to allow the local level to facilitate the monitoring of alternative classes.
