Chennai: At the fag end of March when the lockdown was announced, the State government had asked educational institutions to not pressurise students into paying fees.
This came as a breather for parents who were worried about getting their salaries from employers. But, at the same time, this has put education institutions, especially private-run ones relying on tuition fees and admission fees to pay teachers and staff, in a huge fix.
The fear intensified after the UGC declared colleges would remain shut until September. The reopening date for schools is yet to be decided.
While many teachers and staff got salaries for the month of March, they wonder how the months to come would turn out.
Michael, who works in a private arts and science college on the city outskirts, says, “We have declared vacation until September. We are afraid as we do not how things will be after June. There are many institutions which run purely with income from fees. They normally pay salaries on 10 or 15 of every month. Employees of these institutions may not get their salary in May.”
Hrithik, who works in an aviation school, is going through a difficult ordeal. “We run the institute purely with fees from students. Even though we facilitated online payments, most of the students said they would pay after the lockdown is lifted. When we paid half salaries, some section of the staff threatened to quit. That is when we thought of getting a loan. But then the lockdown was extended and it became a struggle. Now we have managed to pay for the month of March.”
Vignesh, a parent of two children, says it is not an easy phase for parents, especially if the family has a single earning member.
“The school has facilitated online payment for fees and has not pressurised us to pay. But, if this continues, we suggest they have classes online for the children since we are paying fees,” he says.
A teacher says their management is trying to work a way out so that the students and teachers will not be affected during this time.
Tamilnadu Teachers Association, president, P K Ilamaran says that there were complaints of teachers not getting paid by private institutions. “We will wait till first week of May and then take it up with Director of School Education.”