Can’t dictate private schools in Nagaland to waive off fees, says ANPSA

“If you kill this Golden Goose, you will be doing so at the peril of a huge blunder”

Dimapur, July 21 (EMN): The All Nagaland Private Schools’ Association (ANPSA) on Wednesday stated that it can’t dictate policies like fee waiver which may infringe on the autonomy of private educational institutions, as it is only a conglomeration of all private schools meant for extending quality education and not an extra-judicial organisation.

The association was responding to the recent appeal made by Western Sumi Students’ Union (WSSU) to its Dimapur unit to “waive off three months of school fees” in view of the hardships faced by many families due to the pandemic.

“Many private schools in Nagaland have already been giving a lot of concessions and scholarships to the underprivileged students even at the cost of huge financial losses of the schools. Most private schools face the additional problem of many parents not paying their wards’ fees throughout the year, with excuses of various economic reasons,” read the press release from ANPSA.

It stated that private schools are at the receiving end and many institutions are unable to pay salaries of their staff.

The association stated that unlike most private enterprises, private schools have been actively involved in conducting online classes even during lockdown to mitigate the education loss of students. It added that this exercise requires huge expenditure in the form of third-party apps services, technical tools, conveyance of teachers, internet broadband, electricity bills etc.

‘Despite their quality contribution and employment opportunities for the society, many private schools run on deficit and do not receive any funds from either the central or state governments,’ it stated, adding that they are always at the forefront in imparting quality education despite running on meagre funds, mostly through fees.

It asked why student bodies are dictating private schools alone to lower or do away with fees, which is the source of their survival.

“Here, we advise you to kindly look into the loopholes in the functioning of the government schools as well, instead of always finding faults and discrepancies in private schools alone, especially at a time when the private schools are juggling pandemic burns and performing duties,” it stated.

The federation said that the repercussions will be huge if private schools are shut down.

“The private schools are in fact the Golden Goose of both the education sector and the economy of Nagaland. If you kill this Golden Goose, you will be doing so at the peril of a huge blunder which may not go down well in history,” it stated.

It went on to request WSSU and other student bodies not to “lose sight of their vision and support the endeavour of private schools to promote Nagaland as an educational hub and destination”, which will in turn boost state’s economy.