Of the 2,041 private affiliated schools in Hyderabad, close to 1,800 are budget schools that charge an annual fee of up to Rs 35,000. The average number of these schools located in areas like Mehdipatnam, Marredpally, Kukatpally is between 250 and 500. pandemic pandemic In March 2020, these schools, like all others, were forced to transition to online classes. A year later, 300 of them are looking to close with the majority of their students ‘missing’ in action.
“In many schools, the strength has fallen from 600 in 2019-20 to less than 300 in 2021-22 as many families with low or no income are not able to pay the required fees or buy gadgets to attend online classes. Several calls to the parents did not go unanswered. TRSMA advisor S Madhusudan said, “Now we are thinking whether we should consider these students as dropouts and shut down our schools.” He stressed on the possibility of many students from this no-show list being transferred to government schools without demanding transfer certificates.
Incidentally, teachers from government schools admit more students from private schools coming to their institutions in the last one year. “We have seen up to 20% increase in enrollment from private to government schools. This is largely due to the inability to pay the fees,” said Chava Ravi, general secretary of the Telangana State United Teachers Federation. However, he also added: “Enrollment in government schools seems like a temporary arrangement for many parents until physical classes resume (when they won’t need gadgets etc.).”
Along with these dwindling numbers, admissions to pre-primary and primary classes have almost come to nil, making school managements worried about their existence. Considering the dire situation of private budget schools, TRSMA is now collecting more consolidated data on drop in enrollment in budget schools, learning outcomes among students, etc., while urging the state government to reopen schools for physical classes. Has been doing.
“Many parents are of the view that if there are no physical classes, there is no need to pay any fee and that their children will be automatically promoted to the next class. In such a situation, it becomes extremely difficult for budget schools to survive,” said Uma Maheshwara Rao, correspondent with a private budget school.
When TOI contacted Hyderabad District Education Officer R Rohini for a comment, he said that they have received two or three closure applications from schools. “TRSMA representatives reached out to me citing low attendance for online classes. However, we are yet to independently verify their claims. If the schools demand closure citing genuine reasons, we will help, Rohini said.
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