The debate over charging of transport fee by the private schools in Jammu and Kashmir from the school children seems to be a never ending dispute between parents, schools and obviously the government.
A latest move by some of the private schools has taken everybody by surprise as they have sought an undertaking from the parents that they will pay the transport fee for all the months. Any parent who will not submit the undertaking will not be provided a transport facility by the concerned schools.
The move has left the parents in a dilemma as to agree to the terms and conditions of the school or not. Most of the parents are caught in a catch-22-situation over the issue.
The move has come from the schools at a time when the government is issuing repeated circulars and orders to schools directing them to submit all the documents related to the school buses of their institutions.
Also, the parents are already agitated because their kids are attending their schools only thrice a week as the schools are following odd even formula to take physical classes of their students. So, the parents are of the opinion that the transport fee should be charged only for 15 days of each month till the odd-even formula continues in the schools.
While parents are expecting to be charged for half the month, the schools have sought undertaking from them (Parents) that they will pay full transport charges for all the months.
It is not only the schools who can be blamed for this mess, but the government is equally responsible for it as well. Almost a year ago, the government issued instructions to the schools to charge only tuition fee from the parents during the COVID-19 lockdown period while the decision about collection of transport fee will be announced later.
However, the new academic session 2020-21 has already begun with resumption of the offline classes from Kindergarten to class 12th students. Unfortunately, the government is still indecisive over the issue which has left the parents at the receiving end.
This is not the first time when the charging of transport fee has come to limelight; the issue hit the headlines after deadly floods hit Kashmir in September 2014. The issue came to fore after the parents and the school managements in Kashmir were at a logger heads over charging of transport fee from the students for the months during which the schools remained closed due to the heavy damages caused by the September 2014 floods.
While the ice failed to break despite the intervention of the government, the confrontation continued for months together till the majority of the schools somehow managed to collect the transport fees – either 50 percent or full, from the parents of the students.
Few weeks later the issue of charging tuition fee and transport fee landed in the judiciary after parents opposed the overcharging by private schools.
The issue did not stop here at all. While the parents and schools were trying to resolve the issues caused post 2014 floods, the Valley witnessed six-month long summer unrest from July 2016 again, forcing closure of all the educational institutions for more than six months.
As the schools justified charging of tuition fee for these months saying the money will be used to pay salary to the staff, the charging of transport fee racked up a new controversy putting the parents and the school management again at loggerheads.
The crux is that any move, be it law and order situation or a calamity that forces closure of educational institutions, the charging of transport fee in schools becomes a bone of contention between the parents and the students.
It is also a fact that the government orders or any circulars issued regarding the charging of transport fees have always remained confined to only papers because most of the schools pressurize the parents to clear all type of fees of their children to continue their studies in the concerned schools.
In 2019, the educational institutions remained closed for around months but the majority of the educational institutions particularly the top notch schools in Srinagar and other districts collected the transport fee from parents. The move exposed the weakness of the competent authorities to put a check on the functioning of these schools.
While the government was yet to resolve the previous issues pending with them for past years, the issue of charging transport fee again hit the headlines when the educational institutions remained closed for a complete academic year 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
As the ice failed to break between the government and schools, the private school association had decided not to ply school buses to ferry the students to and from the schools. The school body argued that the fee collected from the parents is utilized on the maintenance of the vehicles besides providing monthly salary of the bus drivers and the conductors.
Later, the issue was resolved and the schools agreed to ply the buses on the conditions that the government should take the decision about collection of transport fee for the COVID-19 closure period.
While no decision has come from the government, the schools have put the ball in the parents’ court by seeking an undertaking from the parents that they will pay the transport fee for all the months amid all the situations.
Seeking an undertaking from the parents seems problematic keeping in view the prevailing situation in the Valley where people from all the walks have suffered huge economic losses due to COVID-19 lockdown and the incidents that occurred during past years as well.
This is the right time for the government to intervene into the matter and strictly put an end to this contention. The people at the helm of the affairs should not keep their powers confined to only papers but should act on ground and take a balanced decision which will provide relief to the parents and not go against the interests of the schools as well.