Private and boarding schools have been found defying the Ministry of Education's (MoE) directive to waive 50 percent of monthly fees for the month of Baisakh and Jestha in view of the unscheduled holidays following the earthquake and its aftershocks.

"The schools say that the discount in school fees would be given only to the guardians who show the card issued by the government to the earthquake victims," a guardian of Bright Future English Secondary School in Kalanki said requesting anonymity. He complained that the school charged full amount for Baisakh and Jestha, though it remained shut for 26 academic days of the new academic calendar.

Another guardian of a seventh-standard student of Triyoga School in Dhapasi said that the school offered a rebate of just Rs 500 in the total monthly fees when he sought the discount on the basis of the MoE directive.

The guardian requested anonymity fearing possible retribution against his ward for discussing the matter with the media.

He lashed out against the government for failing to implement its own directive that affected thousands of students and guardians.

"Guardians feel helpless as government's pusillanimity emboldens schools to flout rules openly," said he.

Bechan Kapad, chairperson of the Kathmandu Chapter of the Guardian's Association of Nepal criticized the schools saying that the matter calls into question the morality of some schools that are gluttonous enough to extract fees from guardians at hard times against government's order.

Meanwhile, Private and Boarding Schools Organization, Nepal (PABSON) officials claimed misinterpretation of directive by schools might have led to the confusion.

PABSON's Vice-chairperson Rajendra Baniya said that the issue would be brought up during the association's national congregation that is scheduled for August 1.

Department of Education (DoE) monitored some 16 valley-based private schools last month after it received huge number of complaints regarding private schools refusing to comply with the MoE's directive.

Most of the schools were found sidestepping the directive in one way or the other, said DoE Director Khagendra Nepal. The DoE has already instructed concerned district education offices (DEO) to take action against wayward schools, he added.

The DEO has also been asked to monitor schools on a regular basis, according to the DoE officials. "The ministry's order to schools was quite clear; those who defy it will face action," Nepal told Republica.

source: myrepublica, 27 july 2015