Ambala private schools seek reduction in pledge money

Tribune News Service

Ambala, August 4

Raising objections to the pledge money being charged in Haryana, a delegation of the private school operators yesterday met Education Minister Kanwar Pal and demanded its reduction.

Kulbhushan Sharma, president, Federation of Private Schools’ Welfare Association, said the pledge money, which was equivalent to the three-month salary of the existing staff, was deposited to get recognition from the state education board. He said: “In Haryana, the pledge money goes from Rs 5 lakh to over Rs 1 crore, depending upon the salary and staff strength of schools. In Delhi, the pledge money is Rs 2 lakh for all categories, and there is no pledge money in some states.”

“In the CBSE, the pledge money for secondary school is Rs 60,000 for students less than 500, Rs 80,000 for students up to 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh for students above 1,000. Private schools are facing financial crises due to the Covid pandemic and the pledge money is an idle fund that schools kept in banks that they can’t use under any circumstances. The fund has futility for government, students, school owners and all stakeholders,” he said.

The minister has assured that he would take up the matter with the officials concerned and try to get it resolved.

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