Page 24 - Education World Dec 2021

Education News

to a massive Rs.4,000-5,000 crore. politicians and bureaucrats are
They contend that affordable budget availing every opportunity to force
private schools are on the brink of BPS promoters out of the vocation of
financial bankruptcy with most un- education. The TCs issuance order
able to pay teachers and staff. They is yet another stick to beat budget
warn that 3,000 BPS will have to private schools.
shut down permanently if parents Reshma Ravishanker (Bengaluru)
are issued TCs without clearing fees
dues. WEST BENGAL
March 2020, many parents have not Other priorities
“Since the closure of schools in
paid fees citing government mandat-
ed fees cuts and circulars prohibiting OLLOWING CHIEF MINISTER Ma-
schools from coercing parents to pay mata Banerjee’s October 25
fees. Some parents have not paid fees Fdeclaration that education for
for two years with some having not class IX-XII students in West Ben-
even paid the fee for the academic gal’s 92,000 government and 2,000
year 2019-20. Therefore, we have private schools, 372 colleges and 32
advised member schools to file police universities would resume, they were
complaints against defaulting par- duly reopened on November 16 after
S
ents,” says h a s h i K u m a r, general the unprecedented 20-month pan-
secretary, KAMS. demic lockdown. Although education data and justification of the prolonged
nsurprisingly, parents’ as- minister Bratya Basu has expressed lockdown remain unanswered.
Usociations have welcomed the willingness to reopen schools fully, Meanwhile district and village tab-
November 25 circular. “We welcome an estimated 3 million children in loids are replete with reports of child
this circular as it will enable finan- pre-primaries to class VIII are still out distress. According to J oy c e D a s -
cially distressed parents to either en- of school. Against West Bengal’s pro- g u p ta , district magistrate of Jhar-
roll their children in other low-price longed 73 weeks and counting shut- gram, 600 students have dropped out
private or free-of-charge government down of primary schools, in France of schools in the district. In Raiganj,
schools. We also welcome KAMS they were shuttered for 12 weeks; Rus- North Dinajpur district “a large num-
decision to file complaints against sia 13, China 27, Brazil 53 and USA 56 ber” of school children have migrated
parents. This will force them to weeks. and taken up bidi binding jobs. T a -
reveal the actual breakup of the fees Unsurprisingly, even after schools m in S ore n , the teacher-in-charge of
they collect annually, and how much and higher education institutions have Maharaja Jagadishnath High School,
of it is permitted by the government started on-campus classes, atten- also in Raiganj, says 50 class XI-XII
and how much is illegal. Private dance is thin. This is because during students have left their homes to work
school managements want to bully the past 73 weeks of lockdown thou- in Kerala, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab
and threaten parents into clearing sands of children who had no access to to boost depleted family incomes. In
their dues even if they have lost their the Internet and digital devices have Jalpaiguri, “hundreds” of tea plan-
jobs and incomes,” says h ida n a n - dropped out of the education system tation workers’ children have quit
C
da P . E, member, Voice of Parents, a altogether. According to a Unicef re- school during the pandemic and start-
Bengaluru-based parents’ represen- port (March 21), only 25 percent of ed working to support their families.
tative association. the country’s 260 million school-go- In Chandipur village of Malda district,
Ethics and morality dictate that ing children were able to access online “dozens” are working in brick kilns
if the government believes that education during the pandemic lock- and paddy fields.
BPS — whose right to engage in down. This translates into 65 million According to u l a k R oy C h ow d -
P
the vocation of education has been children countrywide. h u ry , headmaster of Kanaknagar SD
affirmed by the Supreme Court — But education ministry officials Institution of Hingalganj, North 24
should be forced out of “business”, in Kolkata are tight-lipped about the Parganas, eight class X girls and five
it should raise teaching-learning number of children who have dropped class IX girls have been prematurely
standards (including English) in its out of school in the state. Nor are they married away. Roy Chowdhury says
own 49,000 government schools willing to explain why West Bengal’s only 75 of the 119 class IX students,
statewide. But unwilling to commit early childhood and primary schools and 115 of 200 class X students have
the resources required and initi- are still shuttered. Numerous calls come back to the institution after re-
ate intelligent reforms, Karnataka’s and emails sent to the ministry for opening of senior classes.

24 EDUCATIONWORLD DECEMBER 2021