Page 18 - EducationWorld August 2022

Education News

modernise state government schools ers recruited since the first batch of
mere hype. In the latest Educa- 8,000 teachers appointed in 2017.
tionWorld India School Rankings The Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan
2021-22, Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Sanstha Mahamandal (MRSSM), a
Vidyalaya, Sector 10, Dwarka, Delhi representative body of 20,000 pri-
is ranked India’s #1 government vate aided schools and junior col-
day school and two other RPVVs are leges, has always opposed teacher re-
ranked in the country’s Top 10 by a cruitment and appointments through
special sample group of 1,027 SEC the Pavitra portal on the ground that
(socio-economic category) ‘B’ ‘C’ & it dilutes the autonomy of privately
‘D’ respondents. For RPVVs to have promoted schools. MRSSM leaders
bested 1,244 Central government- contend that a full bench Supreme
promoted Kendriya Vidyalaya Court judgement in the landmark
schools which traditionally top all T.M.A . Pai vs. U nion of I ndia (2002)
government school league tables, is upheld the right of privately promoted
no small achievement. professional education institutions to
Quite clearly, AAP’s decision to Thorat: unwarranted interference establish and ‘administer’ institutions
place universal QEFA at the top of of their choice. The right to administer
its election manifesto is resonating to enable the children of lower middle includes right to recruit and appoint
with the public. Early this year, AAP and working class households to ac- teachers of their choice.
won the Punjab legislative assembly cess them. Many of our schools are operat-
election with a comfortable majority. Until 2012, the tradition was that “ing with less than half the required
The BJP’s panicky decision to file recruitment and appointment of number of teachers which has severely
corruption charges against Sisodia, a teachers was the prerogative of private compromised the quality of educa-
minister of unimpeachable integrity aided school managements. However tion provided to children. It’s well-
and main proponent of QEFA, is an in that year, the then Congress govern- known that there is a steady exodus
indicator that the BJP leadership is ment of Maharashtra banned teacher of children from government schools
rattled. appointments in private aided schools because quality of education they dis-
Autar Nehru (Delhi) until ‘excess’ teachers in government pense is very poor. When the educa-
and private aided schools were appro- tion ministry is unable to do a good
MAHARASHTRA priately deployed. job of its own schools, why should it
Subsequently in 2017, the then
Spreading tentacles Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena led continue interfering with our work?
The government is also incapable of
government (2014-19) accused private conducting a scam-free teacher eligi-
ORE THAN 60 MARATHI-medium aided school managements of indulg- bility test as evident from recent TET
private aided school man- ing in widespread corrupt practices in scams in Maharashtra. So, why should
Magements have filed writ recruiting teachers whose salaries are we hire TET cleared candidates with
petitions before the Nagpur bench of paid by government. In June 2017, a questionable qualifications?” argues
the Bombay high court demanding government resolution mandated A shok rao Thorat , vice president,
complete autonomy to appoint teach- registration of teacher vacancies on MRSSM, with reference to the arrest
ers. Currently, there are a total 66,750 its Pavitra portal to ensure transpar- last December of commissioner of the
primary-secondary schools statewide ency and accountability in the teacher Maharashtra State Council of Exami-
with an aggregate enrolment of 5.25 recruitment process. nations for allegedly tampering with
million children mentored by 450,000 Aspiring teachers who had written TET exam scores.
teachers. Private-aided Marathi-me- and passed the teacher eligibility test A ten-year jail term served by
dium schools number 20,120 (30 per- (TET) and/or the Maharashtra Teach- Haryana chief minister Om Prakash
cent). er Aptitude and Intelligence Test Chautala in 2011 for master-minding
Private aided schools are a unique- (TAIT) were allocated to registered a teachers’ recruitment scam and the
ly Indian phenomenon. Although schools by the education ministry. recent (July) arrest of West Bengal ed-
promoted by private trusts and so- In sum, teacher recruitment of pri- ucation minister Partha Chatterjee on
cieties, salaries of their teachers and vate aided schools passed from their similar charges, indicate that teacher
non-teaching staff are paid by the managements to government. Un- appointments in government schools
state government. The quid pro quo surprisingly, the recruitment process is a flourishing racket nationwide.
is that the tuition fees of private aided through the Pavitra portal is riddled Evidently, Maharashtra’s neta-ba-
schools are calibrated by government with technical glitches with no teach- bu brotherhood aspires to go one bet-

18 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2022