Contributing to the world’s collective fight against notorious coronavirus, Amazon has waived the subscription fee for its online books and academic resources. Nurseries and schools havebanded with the British government during the toughest time. The Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines has asked the schools to not claim the fees during coronavirus outbreak period. In India, the government of Himachal Pradesh has stopped the schools to ask for the fees during the lockdown. The governments of the European countries are already giving free school education to their nationals. This is how the world is doing to mitigate the worst economic impact of COVID-19. Man is passing through the period where social responsibility surpasses business motives.
Despite the economic commotion caused by coronavirus, the business of private schools in Pakistanis quite safe. The government could direct the private school owners to waive the school fees for at least two months during the coronavirus lockdown. The schools will remain closed to the end of May, and then the summer vacations start. The private school owners could play their role, understanding the fact that they are already saving good money in terms of reducedutility bills, less usage of stationery and exclusion of daily working cost during the lockdown.
The entire world is showing sympathy to the humanity by scarifying everything to keep the wheel of economy to the track in some way or the other. The announcement of PM’s recent economic relief package of 1.2 trillion rupees and establishment of Corona Relief Fund arepalpable, but it lacks the plan about the school fees which could burden the pockets of the people during corona massacre. Syed Murad Ali Shah, the Chief Minister of Sindh, along with provincial Education Minister are putting efforts to ensure as much relief to the people as they can. They are being waited for directing the private schools to exempt fees for the month of lockdown.
The private schools have launched online portals and mobile phone applications to deliver distance education while the children stay at their homes. This is a good thing on the part of schools. But this is not sufficient. They could come one more step forward and share a bit of financial burden of the parents during the time of need. The academic materials schools are sharing online may figure misguided learning patterns in the young brains. Sharing the links without scrutiny is not what the learning process requires. Tutors’ feedback on the students’ assignments is supposed to happen daily. The schools have not yet explained about the induction of contemporary online education system. There are operational difficulties in the teacher-student interaction and delivery of education.
The closure of schools is inevitable during the rule of plague. The parents, at the same time, are afraid that their children would experience education disruption because of inadequate provisions of online education in Pakistan. Many children do not have active internet connections. Most have not developed the sense of getting educated online. The good-at-pocket parents have started hiring the private tutors who could help their children prepare the examinations online. This has created another head of account galloping all the liquidity left with the masses for their food and health security.
The universal forces will finally uproot the fearful infection of coronavirus, but the world would feel the economic cramps in future
Previously, most of the private schools have not met the terms of the Supreme Court’s verdict of December 2018 that instructed the schools to decrease the monthly fees by twenty per cent. Manipulation of the highest orders remained successful and the schools reduced the tuition fee only that lowered the aggregate fee by three to four hundred rupees. The fee vouchers of nearly all schools show an unnecessary head of “other charges”. This head could be removed to assist the parents during COVID-19 lockdown that has badly infected both the health and economy.
Why to leave all things on the shoulders ofthe state alone? Where has the social participation of Pakistan’s educational institutes gone? Social contributions are much required during the lockdown period. The schools are supposed to sow the seeds of ethics and values in the human beings. All Pakistan Private School Federation and the provincial associations could erect the highest minaret of ethics by showing compassion when it comes to payment of fees by the parents. God forbid that COVID-19 take the poor and mediocre to the verge of economic death first!
In the wake of Coronavirus outburst, I suggest the federal government and the All Pakistan Private School Federation to join hands to either waive or charge half of the fees for the months of April and May 2020. The universal forces will finally uproot the fearful infection of coronavirus, but the world would feel the economic cramps in future. Being good at heart and sharing the financial burdens at individual and corporate level could streamline the life.
The writer is a researcher and journalist waheedmba@yahoo.com