Most private schools in Kashmir rely on cash payments

Srinagar, Aug 12: While there has been a complete shift from paper to digital mode, most of the private schools in Kashmir continue to rely on outdated methods for tuition fee collection, forcing parents to either visit banks or pay in cash.

The practice has left the parents aghast who say the practice in vogue was causing inconvenience to them. Parents have voiced their concerns over the long queues they face at banks or school premises to submit fees.

A group of aggrieved parents complained to Greater Kashmir that sticking to the paper mode of transactions was more challenging for those parents employed in the private sector."Everyone knows that the private sector in Kashmir is still struggling to flourish, and employees often experience delays in receiving their salaries. To manage our daily needs, many of us rely on credit cards," an aggrieved parent said. "But these schools have set their own rules, only to cause inconvenience to us," he said.

The parents said that the delays in receiving their monthly salaries often result in missing deadlines for paying the school fees. "If we fail to submit the fees on time, we are charged late fees by the school management. Moreover, students who do not clear their fees on time are at times denied their results," the parents said.

The parents said that their repeated attempts to convince school authorities to accept online payments did not prove fruitful. "We have approached these schools multiple times, explaining that due to financial constraints, we use our credit cards to manage important financial matters. But they remain adamant about cash payments," the parents said.

These complaints are surfacing at a time when the Government of India is pushing for a more vibrant Digital India, aiming to facilitate easier public transactions. "We fail to understand why many schools in the Valley continue to refuse online transactions.

Even for admission fees, they insist on cash payments," the parents said. Amid the inconveniences faced at the hands of private schools, the parents have urged the authorities in School Education Department (SED) to intervene and issue strict instructions to schools regarding this issue.

"If strict instructions are passed to schools for adopting online mode of transactions, it would provide much-needed relief and prevent unnecessary harassment of students," the parents said.

President Private Schools Association J&K (PSAJK) G N Var when contacted said the schools should remain flexible in accepting any mode transaction be it digital or cash payments. "In contemporary times, we are all moving towards digitisation and schools should also adopt the new methods of collection of fees for the convenience of the parents. There is no harm if parents want to make payments through credit card, schools should accept it," Var told Greater Kashmir.