WE THE PEOPLE
No let-up in growth of private schools, no let-up in fleecing of parents in Kashmir
Hence Senior Citizens demand quality education in Govt., institutions to discourage privatization
By: Uzair Khan
SRINAGAR: With overtaken by materialistic considerations overwhelmingly, many individuals over a long period of time have remained engaged in opening more and more educational institutions in Kashmir valley. They have been devising different methods to fleece parents of wards with no one to curb their nefarious tendencies and put an end to uncalled for exploitation. Had quality education been available in government run schools, there would be no occasion for people to send their wards to money-churning centres. Although teachers in Public Sector are enjoying high perks as compared to Private Sector, yet performance of the former is far inferior to the latter. Why so is a moot question.
No doubt, education widens vision, harnesses talent and discourages social evils to a great extent. But the way education is imparted in Government-run schools in J&K is not up to the mark, which force parents to admit their wards in private educational institutions. Such private education centres have taken undue advantage of the situation and have started fleecing students to the hilt. These Institutions have not only become money-churning centers, but centers of exploitation too. Their managers have devised novel methods to exploit the teachers, least caring about their high qualifications and better performance. It is alleged that such teachers are paid peanuts and even most of them are forced to authenticate wage bills, which are allegedly inflated and fabricated.
It is worth mentioning that privatization of education in India in general and J&K in particular has been taking place at the school level without much resistance. Private Education Trusts often become profit making business ventures with no social ideals or objectives. There were only a few persons like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who had passion to spread education among general masses so that they get enlightened and prove good citizens tomorrow. Such people worked zealously and saw their efforts achieve the desired goals. Moreover, such personalities were overwhelmingly overtaken by religious and moral values. Their aim was not to earn money, but to serve the community, especially the downtrodden sections of the society to the best of their abilities and capacities. But such ideals seem to have vanished and managers of private educational institutions are allegedly on hunt to fleece the parents of the students today. In the name of building fund and other welfare schemes, they charge students heavily with no one to question their way of working. Although the State judiciary is on record to have taken cognizance of such a dismal scenario in the past, but the State functionaries have failed to implement such directions for the reasons not known.
“ The State Government has taken up a massive constructional programme in the Education Sector, but there is no improvement in the quality of education in most of the government-run schools of the State. On the other hand, the private institutions have better quality of education, which has been attracting parents to get their wards admitted into such schools at a very heavy cost. Such private institutions have been hiking fees every year without any reason or rhyme, but there is none to raise any objection to such vandalism. There are also reports that private institutions have been engaging teachers with high qualifications, but are not being paid according to their qualifications. It is reported that graduates and post-graudates are paid Rs.1500/- per month and any break in between is deducted from their wages. Even some of the teachers are forced to sign highly inflated wage bills as they get aid from the government for running such institutions. It is our common observation that most of the teachers working in government schools have allegedly set-up tuition centres where they direct students to attend and pay heavily. It is also alleged that such teachers play a truant and devout more time in their coaching centres, regardless of the fact that they are paid by the Government to teach students during the scheduled period set by the Education Department. There is none from the Government to raise objection to such coaching centres where students are huddled together in small rooms,†said a group of elderly persons of Kashmir Valley.
Hence Senior Citizens demand quality education in Govt., institutions to discourage privatization. The State intervention needs to be increased in private sector institutions to increase quota of seats to the poor and deprived sections of the society to help in promoting human resources development to keep pace with the emerging requirements. It becomes, therefore, necessary to see that a thorough change is attempted without merely making cosmetic changes. Then and then only education system can be improved to meet the needs of Kashmir society.
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