Trending: Rs 6,000 advance fee for pre-KG online classes

Vellore

As the crisis triggered by coronavirus has forced all educational institutions statewide to remain shut for months. In such a situation, almost all the institutions have been forced to handle the classes for high, higher secondary and college students via online. This e-classes formula seems to have ‘infected’ private primary schools in Vellore as well.

With no solution in sight to pandemic problem, admissions for the upcoming year have also hit a roadblock. As all avenues for revenue have been shut, schools are struggling to pay teachers. Hence, several institutions in different parts of the state have adopted the idea of collecting online charges. Taking cue from this, many primary schools in the district have employed the same technique and have asked parents seeking admission for their wards in pre-KG sections to pay an advance of Rs 6,000.

One such case, Samyukta (name changed) from Chennai, who is currently in Vellore and wanted to admit her three-year-old daughter in a private school here was told to pay an advance of Rs 6,000 for a pre KG seat. The monthly fees depending on the class the child joined (pre-Kg, LKG or UKG) would range between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500 a month.When she enquired with a school staffer as to what they have planned to teach pre-KG students, the staffer casually replied, “We teach them how to use a mobile phone to look at pictures.”

When Samyukta explained how parents tried to keep kids away from mobile phones to ensure that they do not get addicted to it, the staff instantly hit back asking her to wait and put her ward in regular class when the school reopens.

Another reason for this trend is that some schools are trying to exploit the anxiety of mothers stuck in various towns due to the lockdown to ensure that their children learnt something in school, but the taken aback at the idea of online classes for kids just aged 3 years.