Hyderabad: Mounting reimbursement dues are making survival hard for many private schools admitting students under the Best Available Schools Scheme (BASS), as they are unable to spend even for the daily functioning of the institutions.
Managements said if the govt cannot release the reimbursement amount, they should come forward and take over these schools and run them on par with state-run residential schools.
In the state, 180 schools are implementing BASS, under which the govt pays the fee of SC and ST students. According to the school managements, they have to receive around Rs 180 crore to Rs 200 crore from the government.
“Many of us are not even in a position to take care of the day-to-day needs of our schools. From next year, we want the govt to either take over our schools or want parents to pay fees and claim from the govt later. Or else, we have no option except to shut our schools,” said Y Shekhar Rao, State Secretary, BASS Schools Managements Association.
They claimed that the majority of schools have dues anywhere between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore each. They further claimed that others are not showing interest in joining their schools as they are being tagged as ‘SC and ST schools’ by locals. They also pointed out that if the govt doesn’t clear dues by March 31, even the existing token released will lapse.
“I need to get Rs 1.5 crore from the govt. I have tokens issued for Rs 1.16 crore, but the money is stuck in the treasury department. Unless the money is released by this month-end, these tokens will not be valid,” said R Vishnu Vardhan Rao, who runs a BASS school in Mancherial. He said his school has around 150 hostellers and that he is forced to divert fee paid by other students to provide food for these residential students. Managements have even submitted a representation to collectors in this regard.
Managements said if the govt cannot release the reimbursement amount, they should come forward and take over these schools and run them on par with state-run residential schools.
In the state, 180 schools are implementing BASS, under which the govt pays the fee of SC and ST students. According to the school managements, they have to receive around Rs 180 crore to Rs 200 crore from the government.
“Many of us are not even in a position to take care of the day-to-day needs of our schools. From next year, we want the govt to either take over our schools or want parents to pay fees and claim from the govt later. Or else, we have no option except to shut our schools,” said Y Shekhar Rao, State Secretary, BASS Schools Managements Association.
They claimed that the majority of schools have dues anywhere between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore each. They further claimed that others are not showing interest in joining their schools as they are being tagged as ‘SC and ST schools’ by locals. They also pointed out that if the govt doesn’t clear dues by March 31, even the existing token released will lapse.
“I need to get Rs 1.5 crore from the govt. I have tokens issued for Rs 1.16 crore, but the money is stuck in the treasury department. Unless the money is released by this month-end, these tokens will not be valid,” said R Vishnu Vardhan Rao, who runs a BASS school in Mancherial. He said his school has around 150 hostellers and that he is forced to divert fee paid by other students to provide food for these residential students. Managements have even submitted a representation to collectors in this regard.
