If only schools could ring the bell without cash
Laundry, cooking lessons to my cook on healthy food options for my little Kaira, plans for her birthday next week, etc, etc. Phew!! the list is endless. I was still in bed counting my tasks for the day, when my phone rang,
“The last day to pay the fee is November 4. Any delay will result in additional charges.”
A drop trickled down the window pane into my Sunday cup of coffee and I looked up at the sky, wondering how I would manage this time. The last two months I had my name on the delinquent list and my daughter running under the threat of losing her school. She also missed an educational trip planned for her lot, due to a delay on our part in making the corresponding payments. Brave and understanding as she is, I was surprised not to get a single tantrum from her but her grim face did bother me. She once told me innocently,
“Mom, I love my school and my friends so much. You promise I’ll never have to leave them,” and all she had was a soft smile to ease her worries.
We had been trying to make ends meet ever since Kaira’s father lost his job due to layoffs in the e-commerce industry. I was lucky to have survived his wrath, but we saw a low point of our usual lives. While other things could be addressed, increasing tuition fees was a big concern so as not to forget the other essentials like regular and co-curricular health checks etc.
Hiding my thoughts under the soft rays of the sun peeking through the clouds, I took Kaira in my arms and whispered in her ear:
“This time mom won’t fail, darling. Your dreams will fly high.”
I went through my accounts, summing up every penny we had to manage his fees, this time on time. I was wondering if there was an EMI option for this, life could get so much simpler. Regular monthly installments and could push the money toward other needs, including an art class for Kaira. The sketches of her are to die for.
Wait! I’m thinking; Laughing at my childish self, I stuck my head back into the documents, calculating my savings.
While getting the money in his place was a concern, what worried me was the fact that I would have to take a day off or rush between snack breaks to present the same thing to his school. While his dad frantically tended to his freelance projects, I was deep at work, strategizing for the success of an ongoing marketing campaign, a deciding factor in my upcoming evaluations.
And, if this wasn’t enough pain, the long lines at the counters and hour long waits surely couldn’t be overcome in the strict time I had available. In addition, I would need a day off to accompany my daughter to the clinic, which was in the other corner of the city, for the necessary vaccinations. My forehead now had distinct lines of stress as I helplessly tried to find a way to make things move.
Scribbling on paper, figuring out a way through the maze, my marketing brain thought how difficult it might be to have something like a school card similar to having credit or debit cards. For example, cashless payment for all school necessities with all institutions need to do is issue cards to their providers and administration, and parents can make sure the card has money on it.
Oh! I can be really crazy sometimes…