In the wake of the pandemic, potentially thousands of economically challenged parents are unable to pay school fees, resulting in education institutes withholding their children’s mark sheets and leaving certificates, which are mandatory for admission to colleges.

Though exact data can only be collected by a centralized agency, mid-day visited Bandra Hindu Association High School in Bandra West to gain an understanding of the situation. About 80 per cent of the school’s nearly two hundred students are from minority communities.