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vati, and Yavatmal, Sangli, Kolhapur, resistance to this scheme is because harashtra’s education system suffer-
Washim, Akola, and Chandrapur de- private sector donors and philanthro- ing quota and linguistic chauvinism
nouncing the Adopted School Scheme. pists are likely to demand greater ac- pressures welcome this overdue ini-
“Education is every child’s right and countability from local government tiative to get public education back
public education is entirely the gov- officials and teachers who have thus on track. “This is a welcome initiative.
ernment's responsibility. Allowing far had a free run in managing the Companies, corporations and NGOs
private CSR (corporate social respon- state’s 65,000 government schools. will become a pressure group to raise
sibility) contributions from compa- “Maladministration, teacher absen- rock-bottom teaching-learning stan-
nies and wealthy donors will create an teeism, multi-grade teaching in crum- dards in government schools. With a
imbalance in the government school bling infrastructure is rife in govern- continuous exodus of students fleeing
system with schools closer to cities ment schools. As a result, according government schools, it’s important to
benefitting and those in rural belts to the highly respected Annual Status get philanthropists, NGOs and cor-
deprived of similar benefits. It will of Education Report (ASER) 2022, porates to lend them a helping hand.
encourage discrimination within the 36 percent of class V children in rural It can’t do them any harm,” says Dr.
government school system and widen schools can’t read class II textbooks or Swati Popat Vats, president of the
the urban-rural gap in school educa- manage simple computational sums. Early Childhood Association of India
tion,” says Vijay Kombey, president ASER 2022 also notes that 7 percent (ECA) and indefatigable champion
of MRPSS. of primary schools don’t have separate of professionally administered early
However, according to knowledge- toilets for girls. Private donors who childhood care, which has been given
able monitors of the education scene adopt schools are unlikely to tolerate pride of place in the National Educa-
in Maharashtra (pop.115 million) such neglect and maladministration,” tion Policy (NEP) 2020.
— India’s most industrialised state says a professor of sociology in a pri- But with powerful teachers’ unions
which needs well-educated school- vate college in Mumbai, who preferred ranged against this well-meaning ini-
leavers and graduates to keep its fac- to remain anonymous. tiative, its future is doubtful.
tories and farms running — teachers’ Other bona fide monitors of Ma- Nasrin Modak Siddiqi (Mumbai)

NOVEMBER 2023 EDUCATIONWORLD 31