By Manjima Dhakal, Kathmandu, May 8: Organisations of the private school have said that the private schools  would not be able to  pay their teaching and non-teaching staff members unless the government provides a suitable alternative to them in the current situation.

They claimed that they were facing problems in managing the school as the government instructed them not to charge any fee to the guardians.

Many private schools have not paid the salaries to their  teachers and other employees from mid-March citing the government instruction not to charge any fee to the school children after the closure of schools due to coronavirus fear and lockdown.

Tika Puri, chairman of Private and Boarding School Association Nepal (PABSON), said their member schools were paying teaching and non-teaching staff and rent of the school buildings from the fees they collect from the students.

“Now when the government prohibited schools from collecting fees, they are really facing problems,” he added.

Puri further said they were also not planning to charge fees of online classes, but they were seeking some relief package from the government for the management of the schools.

According to Puri, about 200,000 teaching and non-teaching staff members are associated with private schools across the country. Likewise, 70 per cent private schools are running in rented buildings.

Rituraj Sapkota, chairperson of National Private and Boarding Schools Association Nepal (NPABSON), said though private schools were not asking fees with the  guardians now, but they were worrying about the management of their schools without charging fees to the students.

“Some sacrifice from all guardians, school management and teachers could be the best way to manage schools in the present crucial situation,” Sapkota said.

He said the government had to play the role of a  mediator for the management of the private schools. The NPABSON has been planning to have a dialogue with the government on the issue, he added.

Recently, the government had instructed the private schools not to charge any fee to the students during the lockdown. It has also asked the private schools not to charge  fee of the online classes, which many schools are running now.