Hoping to start in-person classes soon and with a wish to ensure student safety, a private school in Gujarat is offering a five percent discount on school fee if parents of students are vaccinated.
The CBSE affiliated Udgam School for Children, Ahmedabad, Gujarat has found an innovative way to boost the vaccination drive against Covid-19 in India.
However, this fee reduction would apply only in a case where all parents of a particular class is vaccinated. The reduction is applicable for class classes from KG to class 12 which is around an estimated 19,000 parents.
Manan Choksi, executive director, Udgam School for Children said that the idea behind such a decision was a win-win as not only would it prompt parents to get vaccinated fast but also restore normalcy soon.
“The discount applies when all parents of a particular class are vaccinated. The idea is that parents also motivate each other to get inoculated fast,” he said adding that even scientifically, if only a few parents are vaccinated, chances are that other children’s parents might carry the virus, pass it on to students who in turn affect the other classmates.
The discount is applicable to all four schools under the group. The school is accepting academic fees up to August 31 and giving parents an option to get vaccinated before that. Even if parents have Covid-19, the school hopes to give them a chance to take the vaccine three months later and ask for a fee reduction.
“If most population of the country’s population is vaccinated, we can start schools. The faster we do this, the more successful we will be in avoiding a third wave. Countries, where 50 % of people are vaccinated, have started schools normally. We have to consider this as well,” said Choksi.
He said that not only will this be beneficial for the education sector at large but also individual schools. Not many schools have been able to collect full fee from parents as they have switched to online classes. However, if classes are conducted in person, financial stability will be improved.
“Having said that, we understand that each school has its own financial challenges. Not all can afford such fee reduction. Some are already charging 25% less than the usual fee. In future, the government can take it up as an initiative that if fee reduction is announced, it be done only for those students whose parents are vaccinated.”
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