Parents now enrol children in government schools

The pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns have affected many families

With her son studying till Class V at a private school here, Devi (name changed), a resident of Saibaba Colony, decided to change school for her son for Class VI this year. Employed as a nurse at a dental clinic and her husband working for a food delivery aggregator, the COVID-19-induced lockdown impacted the financial situation of the family to the extent that they could no longer afford to pay the fees at the private school, she said. Hence, the couple decided to enrol their son at a government-aided school for the current academic year. “Government schools have now come on a par with private schools,” Ms. Devi told The Hindu on Thursday. She also plans to shift her younger son currently studying Class IV at a private school to a government school. With the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns affecting many families, several parents are opting to shift their children from private schools to government and aided schools in Coimbatore district.