MUSCAT: The Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA), under the Kerala government, has written a letter to the Ambassadors of six GCC countries including Oman asking to immediately look into the issue of fees at Indian Schools after many parents raised concerns about paying tuition fees in this “unprecedented situation”. 

All schools across the country are shut as a precautionary measure against the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many Indian parents who are affected due to the crisis have urged the school authorities to reduce the fees. On Monday, Board of Directors (BOD) of Indian Schools in Oman advised parents to remit their children’s fees in a monthly manner instead of quarterly mode. 

However, PM Jabir, Welfare Secretary of Indian Social Club wrote to the Chairman of Indian Schools in Oman urging to waive-off the fees. “I would like to bring to your kind attention the condition of many of the parents in different Indian Schools. As you may be aware due to the lock-out, a large number of Indians are not earning any income. This is more so in the case of daily wage workers who form a majority of parents in the schools. 

“They do not have enough money even to buy food and other necessities and paying the school fees is unthinkable for them. Some schools have sent messages to parents that their ward would be denied education if the school fees is not paid soon. Many have asked us to bring this to the attention of the Board, the Embassy and the government.  I request you to waive off the fees from parents who have stopped receiving their wages as a result of lock down necessitated by the COVID-19 situation,” Jabir said in a letter to the BOD, a copy of which is available with The Arabian Stories.