Page 32 - Education World July 2020

Cover Story

initiate a temporary ultra-universal
basic income programme for 150 mil-
lion poorest households repeatedly
recommended by E duc ati onWorld
(see https://www.educationworld.in/
union-budget-2020-21-small-change-
for-human-capital-development/)
and several eminent economists, BPS
promoters — typically former school
teachers and small-time entrepre-
neurs with a streak of philanthropy
— have been hung out to dry.
A CCORDING TO DR. KULB

HUSHAN SHARMA, pro-
moter-proprietor of the
class I-VIII SBBM Middle
School in Ambala Cantt (Haryana) and Srinivasan: staying afloat struggle Sharma: stimulus package omission
president of the Delhi-based National
Independent Schools Alliance (NISA, And if you add all stakeholders — sup- Consequently, a large number of
estb.2011), which claims a member- pliers, bus drivers, cleaners etc — over standalone preschools promoted by
ship of 60,000 private, mainly bud- 20 million citizens will suffer unem- child-friendly women edupreneurs
get private schools, 50-60 percent ployment and/or severe economic are likely to shut down, with well-
of low-cost schools in Haryana have loss,” warns Sharma. funded preschool chains such as Eu-
been landed with huge bad debts in Sharma’s solution for this dread- roKids, Podar Jumbo Kids, Kangaroo
fiscal 2019-20. “Typically, children’s ful mess in private — especially in Kids, KidZee in a position to await
fees for the January-March quarter low-end affordable schools — educa- better days. However, the great ma-
are paid in March just before senior tion is for the Centre to deposit an jority (50 percent) of the country’s 165
children write their board exams. But aggregrate Rs.5,000 crore into the million under-five children receive a
this year, all school-leaving exams bank accounts of low-income house- modicum of ECCE (early childhood
have been cancelled, so the major- holds with children in the country’s care and education) in the 1.4 mil-
ity of affordable schools in Haryana 400,000 budget private schools to en- lion anganwadi s — essentially nu-
have lost three months’ revenue while able them to pay school fees on pain trition centres for lactating mothers
continuing to pay teachers and staff of expulsion for non-payment. “Curi- and newborns — established by the
salaries. Simultaneously, state gov- ously, only education institutions are Central government in 1976 under its
ernments are advising private school under lockdown indefinitely, and no Integrated Child Development Ser-
managements to collect fees from only provision has been made for private vices (ICDS) programme. Although
those who are capable of paying while schools which are educating almost in its draft National Education Policy
new admission fees are on hold,” says 50 percent of the country’s in-school 2019, the Kasturirangan Committee
Sharma. children, in the prime minister’s Rs.20 gave pride of place and strongly rec-
Nor have state governments made lakh crore economy stimulus package ommended foundational ECCE, with
any attempt to reimburse BPS the announced in May,” laments Sharma. the economy due to contract by 5
huge amounts owing to them on ac- If the future of private schools percent in fiscal 2020-21, the patheti-
count of having admitted poor chil- overwhelmingly preferred by the mid- cally inadequate budget of the ICDS
dren in their neighbourhoods un- dle class and aspirational households programme is certain to be slashed.
der s.12 (1) (c) of the RTE Act. “The at the base of the steeply iniquitous And it’s a measure of the proclivity
amount owing to BPS under this ac- socio-economic pyramid is cloudy, of generalist bureaucrats to rush into
count in the small state of Haryana is the fate of the country’s estimated experts’ territory, that in Karnataka,
Rs.50 crore and nationally it is lakhs 300,000 private pre-primaries, aka a state government circular of June
of crores. If schools — many of them preschools, is even more so. The Co- 15 peremptorily banned online inter-
operating out of rented premises — re- vid-19 pandemic has spooked parents action between teachers and young-
main under lockdown until Septem- of youngest under-5 children, who ac- est children in all pre-primaries and
ber, 70-75 percent of BPS countrywide cording to dominant medical opinion primaries up to class V on the ground
will be forced to close down and over are highly vulnerable to the coronavi- that “excessive screen time” is harm-
2 million teachers will lose their jobs. rus. ful for children. This unwarranted

32 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2020