Managements of private schools in Andhra Pradesh have requested the state government to relax the fee fixation rule in order to help the already burdened sector, and for the ”survival of budget private schools” since they have been shut for the past 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mentioning the financial crisis that the private schools are facing due to COVID-19, the President of National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA) Dr Kulbhushan Sharma said, “According to a research, the revenue of private schools in India fell down from Rs 15 lakh crores to 7.5 lakh crores. 80 per cent of these schools are low budget private schools. Financial stress on them is increased with EMIs for buses, insurance, loans from financiers, teachers” salaries, ESI, property tax, electricity bills etc.” He also alleged that a teacher couple with nominal income in the state committed suicide, indicating the intensity of the financial crisis the private schools are facing. “Many died, many got heart attacks due to loss of jobs,” he said.