Uttar Pradesh govt prohibits all schools from increasing fees for 2020-21 session

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday provided a major relief to the parents of school-going children and directed all schools, irrespective of the boards they are affiliated to, not to hike the fees for the academic session 2020-21 in the interest of the students and parents following the Coronavirus outbreak.

'Schools should not hike the free for the AY 20-21'

In a statement issued in Lucknow on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma also said if any school has charged a hiked fee for the new session, the additional amount will be adjusted in the coming months.

"Following the unprecedented situation, which has emerged following the outbreak of COVID-19, all schools in the state have been directed not to hike fees. Due to the lockdown, there has been an adverse impact on the employment of parents, and hence are facing difficulties in depositing the fee," Sharma said.

"All the schools of all the boards in the state, be it UP Madhayamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Secondary Education Board), CBSE, ICSE, International Baccalaureate and International General Certificate of Secondary Education should not hike the fee for the academic session 2020-21, and the fee of 2019-20 should be charged. If any school has charged the hiked fee from the parents, then the same additional amount will be adjusted in coming months," he said.

Instructions were also issued to make provisions that parents be allowed to deposit fees on a monthly basis, said Sharma, who also holds the education portfolio.

Coronavirus outbreak in Uttar Pradesh

Coronavirus claimed one more life in Uttar Pradesh, taking the fatality count to 31 in the state, which inched closer to the 2,000-mark with 113 fresh cases on Monday. The number of confirmed infection cases in the state is 1,986 now, Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, Joint Director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, said in a statement.

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The sole death on Monday was reported from Shravasti district. The highest, 10 deaths, have been reported from Agra, followed by six in Moradabad, five in Meerut, three in Kanpur and one each in Basti, Varanasi, Bulandshahar, Lucknow, Firozabad, Aligarh and Shravasti.

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(With PTI inputs)