Page 40 - EW April 2021

Cover Story

ture) learned in the previous year. In ment schools with Internet and digital
maths 82 percent of children in class- deficits have failed to provide mean-
es II-VI have lost at least one specific ingful online learning to children from
mathematical ability — identifying underprivileged households.
single and two-digit numbers; per- Moreover, despite the fact that the
forming arithmetic operations; using world over governments have pulled
basic arithmetic operations for solving out all stops to continue teaching-
problems; describing 2D/3D shapes; learning in public schools and have
reading and drawing inferences from provided grants, soft loans and direct
data learned in the previous year.” benefit transfers to poor households to
This representative sample of chil- maintain the nutrition and education
dren was field tested by reliable “deep- of children, neither the prime min-
ly engaged teachers” in 44 districts of ister’s illusory Rs.20 lakh crore pan-
Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya demic package, nor the Union budget
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. accorded MSME (micro, small, medi-
I N THIS CONNECTION, IT’S per- pecially the country’s unique 400,000
um enterprises) status to private es-
budget private schools (BPS).
tinent to note that the learning
outcomes of youngest children
Affordably priced BPS are the
in Uttar Pradesh (pop. 215 Pokhriyal: silent spectator preferred option of children of low-
million) and Bihar (pop. 104 million) meetings. income households who manage to
where government schools are noto- Worse, even as myopic state gov- flee government schools defined by
rious for chronic teacher truancy and ernments to curry favour with the sub- crumbling buildings, chronic teacher
official apathy, were not tested. Had sidies-addicted middle class decreed absenteeism, multi-grade classrooms,
they been tested, the learning loss of arbitrary and unrealistic fees ceilings dysfunctional toilets and rock-bottom
children nationally would have been upon the country’s 450,000 indepen- learning outcomes. Consequently
far greater. In retrospect, it is becom- dent (‘unaided’) private schools which BPS promoters — mainly education-
ing increasingly clear that the BJP/ host 48 percent of all in-school chil- ists driven by the spirit of enlightened
NDA government’s hasty March 17 dren, and brazenly advised parents self-interest — have conspicuously
decision to order the closure of all not to pay duly contracted school fees been denied interest payment mora-
schools countrywide — and prolong- while ordering school managements toria, soft loans and tax concessions
ing the shut-down of all campuses and to continue paying teachers and staff to which MSMEs are entitled.
classrooms — hasn’t been sufficiently salaries, the Hon’ble minister — who Against this grim backdrop of
discussed and debated. doesn’t speak a word of English, the multi-pronged attacks on private
According to all indicators, this official language of business, admin- schools by the Centre (which has de-
huge unfolding tragedy in the making istration, the judiciary — has been a nied them MSME status) and state
doesn’t seem to bother Union educa- mum observer to bullying attempts governments (which have imposed
tion minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. to sabotage the private education sys- ruinous fees ceilings and encour-
Despite the prolonged closure of tem. aged parents to renege on their fees
schools and the huge learning and In this connection, it’s important payment contracts), as also parents
nutrition loss suffered by 132 million to note that the majority of private associations on the warpath demand-
children in 1.2 million digitally ill- schools have switched to the digital ing fee cuts and concessions, Dr.
equipped government schools coun- online mode of education delivery to Pokhriyal — who adamantly refuses
trywide, the Union budget 2021-22 ensure learning continuity of their repeated requests to explain his poli-
presented to Parliament and the na- students. On the other hand govern- cies and viewpoint to EducationWorld
tion on February 1 slashed the Central despite this 21-year-old publication
government’s allocation for education Union education minister being by far the country’s #1 educa-
from the Rs.99,312 crore budgeted for tion news magazine — restricts him-
2020-21 to Rs.93,224 crore next year. Ramesh Pokhriyal has self to occasionally contributing self-
Nevertheless, Pokhriyal — a former been a mum observer to congratulatory essays to mainstream
RSS pracharak and less-than-suc- newspapers.
cessful author of hyper-nationalist state governments bullying In his latest missive titled ‘A Lesson
fiction — remained a silent spectator attempts to sabotage the from India’ published in the Economic
and reportedly failed to raise any pro- private education system Times (March 18), the Union educa-
test within pre-budget Union cabinet tion minister writes that “the Indian

42 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2021