Private Schools' Revenues Decrease By 20-50%, 55% Teachers Facing Pay Cut Due To Covid-19 - Report

An NGO report states that due to Covid-19, there has been a decline of 20 to 50% in the income of most private schools.

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New Delhi: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the financials of every sector, and even schools and colleges are witnessing a similar situation. In fact, schools have been closed for a long time due to the Covid-19, due to which there has been a 20-50% decrease in the income of most private schools, which has directly impacted the salary of teachers. Due to the decrease in the revenue of some private schools during the pandemic, the salary of teachers has also been reduced. This disclosure has been made in an NGO report.

Decline in new admissions:
The report of Central Square Foundation (CSF), an NGO working on quality school education in India, is based on a study conducted with over 1100 parents, school administrators and teachers across 20 states and union territories. According to the report, more than 55% of the schools said that the number of new admissions in this academic year has come down significantly, while three-fourth of the schools have faced delays in RTE reimbursement.

Schools record 20-50% shortfall in revenues - Report: 
Non-minority schools have to give free admission to the students selected by the state government under the 25% RTE quota. In lieu of free admission, the state reimburses these schools the prescribed amount in advance. For most schools, revenue has come down by 20-50%, but spending has remained the same, thus making it difficult to continue operations uninterrupted.

Non-payment of regular fees impacted the revenue of the schools: 
The revenue of the schools has been affected due to parents' inability to pay fees regularly. This problem is more prevalent in urban schools. 77% of the schools say that they do not want to take a loan to help the schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Only 3% of schools have taken loans. At the same time, 5% are waiting for their loans to be processed.

Salary cut for 55% teacher in private schools: 
During the lockdown, at least 55% of private school teachers experienced salary cuts. According to the report, schools with low fees have withheld the salary of 65% of teachers. Whereas schools with higher fees have withheld the salary of 37% of teachers. At least 54% of the teachers have an alternate source of income, while 30% of the teachers are now providing tuition for a living. When it comes to parents, at least 70% of them reported that school fees remained the same, and only 50% of parents reported paying the fees, indicating a massive dent in school revenues, the report said.