Pvt schools claim loss, fail to utilise reserve money to pay salaries

Chennai

As per the regulations, every matriculation school should deposit a specific amount in their respective banks before starting an academic year. The deposited amount is to be utilised in case of any emergency.

A senior official from the School Education Department, seeking anonymity, said each self-financing school should have to deposit one month teacher’s salary besides keeping a reserve amount of Rs 20,000 for each class.
 
“High-end schools situated in the cities will have reserve amount of more than Rs 20 lakh every year,” he said adding, “at the same time, middle-level schools would be depositing at least Rs 10 lakh.”

Admitting that many schools have compelled parents to pay full fees even after the court ordered to collect only 75 per cent, the official pointed out that oral orders have been already issued to use the deposited amount to give the salaries for teachers. “But many schools haven’t done it and therefore, parents took up the issue with the court recently,” he said.
 
KR Nandhakumar, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation, Higher Secondary, and CBSE Schools, complained that many private schools, especially in the cities, do not obey government rules and regulations.

“In addition, they do not cooperate with associations or forums,” he added. Nandhakumar, who is also a correspondent in a private school in Pammal, claimed that he paid teachers’ salaries using deposits and other reserved amounts.

However, S Raja secretary, Federation of Associations of Private Schools, pointed out that many nursery schools, which have less deposit amount, were dependent on fees to pay salaries and carry out academic activities.
 
S Arumainathan, president of the Tamil Nadu Students Parents Welfare Association, said all private schools will have a huge reserve amount as they need to deposit it when they get the government nod to open new schools. “To know the real picture of financial status, the government should get the account balance sheets of all schools,” he said, adding “if schools were at a financial loss, the government could extend a loan.”