Page 49 - EW April 2021

parents, management representatives of deep disrespect for their children’s lightened self-interest, are setting the
and prominent local educationists and teachers who will have to suffer salary pace for the overdue overhaul and
citizens in every school, to regulate its cuts and/or layoffs. Government and modernisation of 21st century India’s
functioning. Calibration of fees pay- parents need to shed their us versus early childhood and K-12 education
able during the pandemic months them mindset towards private schools systems. Therefore, private schools
should have been assigned to SMCs to in the greater national interest,” says and their promoters whose legitimate
resolve this issue mutually and ami- Dhirendra Mishra, promoter-CEO and important role has been acknowl-
cably. Instead, state education minis- of Life Educare Pvt. Ltd (estb.2011), edged by several Supreme Court
ters rushed in to spread confusion and a Raipur/Bengaluru-based education judgements, including the watershed
discord. It’s also very disheartening consultancy which has enabled the T.M.A. Pai Case (2002), deserve the
that a large number of high-income promotion of 50 private schools across support of all right thinking members
parents unaffected by the pandemic the country. of society.
lockdown have taken advantage of the The silver lining of the once-in-a- Unfortunately for the nation, a de-
situation to demand fee concessions century Coronavirus pandemic which sign to level down private schools has
and waivers. I’m positive that none of is fast mutating to make a second become painfully apparent during the
them have refused to pay their club strike, is that it has highlighted the past year of the pandemic. This path is
bills or demanded subscription fee re- vital importance of private, includ- fraught with danger, clearly not in the
duction because swimming pools and ing budget private schools, within national interest and requires urgent
gyms were shut down. Parents need the national education system. Sud- course correction. The multi-pronged
to understand that school manage- denly there is growing awareness that attack on private education institu-
ments are their partners engaged in the country’s 450,000 unaided (fi- tions by government, the parents com-
educating and nurturing children. The nancially independent) schools built munity and misguided public opinion
confrontationist attitude adopted by and developed at great cost in terms needs to be halted immediately for the
middle class parents demanding fees of resources by edupreneurs mainly nation to develop its abundant and
waivers and concessions is indicative driven by a constructive spirit of en- high-potential human capital.

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