The Maharashtra Education Department has issued new guidelines to schools leading not to hike fee for 2020-2021 academic year and asked institutes not to force parents to pay the outstanding fee for academic year 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 in one go.

It also added that the parents should be given more payment choices for depositing the fees.

Issuing the guidelines, Maharashtra Education Department said, “There will be no hike in school fee for this academic year 2020-21. Parents should not be forced to pay the remaining fee of academic year 2019-20 & the fee for 2020-21 in one go, they must be given monthly/quarterly payment options: Maharashtra Education Department”

The department has also requested the executive committee of the Parent Teachers Association to assess and reduce fees if some resources continued unused amid the lockdown.

“We have received complaints from parents that some schools are forcing them to pay fees during the COVD-19 lockdown. Schools must not make it mandatory for parents to pay fees during the lockdown,” Vandana Krishna, the State School Education Secretary said on Friday.

A few days back, School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad had hinted that the government of Maharashtra will soon issue a notification requesting schools not to increase the fees for the academic year starting from June 2020, in reference of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Last month, many schools in the country announced a fee hike adding to their distresses. Parents also started an online petition to the HRD Ministry claiming a directive to schools for not applying fee hike this academic term at least till schools reopen.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government has also declared that private schools will not hike fees for this year, along with the government in West Bengal also appealed schools to refrain from increasing fees.