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| Nexus between booksellers, uniform makers, school owners | | Pvt schools in State continue to fleece parents | | Arun Jasrotia
Early Times Report
Udhampur, Mar 25: There's no end to fleecing of parents by most of the private schools across Jammu and Kashmir, with authorities looking the other way.
Education, parents say, has become an business enterprise as admitting a child in any private school is an uphill task. Under the garb of admissions, private schools make a fortune every year.
Many parents in Udhampur while talking to Early times said that giving education to their wards has become an expensive affair with each passing day. They said open loot by private schools is going on unchecked, which shows failure of the state government as well as the Education department.
Parents also said it's no secret that most of the private schools in the state have a nexus with the book Sellers as well as the uniform makers as they get a huge commission as parents have to purchase these items from the prescribed booksellers and uniform sells.
"We parents have no choice as schools tie up with the vendors of books and uniforms. Majority of parents have bought the items knowing that they are paying extra bucks," said a parent.
She also alleged that private schools' managements are very clever as the parents have to buy the prescribed books and uninforms from particular shops only as they are not available at anywhere else.
"This shows that middle class as well as poor families have no right to send their children to good private institutes. School managements also tend to make minor changes to the uniform so that the parents are forced to buy new uniform every year. Some schools have two or three uniform sets for each week. This is simply a loot by the schools," the parent said.
Sources disclosed that every year, most of the reputed private schools select a limited number of students for admission. "But apart from limited seats, the school management manages entry of paid candidates through different channels by selling the seats at a very high price. Middle class as well as poor can't even dream of admitting their children in such so-called prestigious schools," said sources.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had created a committee for fixation of fee structure of private educational institutions in pursuance of the ruling by the Supreme Court in the case titled Islamic Academy of Education vs. State of Karnataka.
The committee was first established in the year 2013 vide government order No. 520-Edu of 12013 dated 07.05.2013 and was reconstituted in the year 2015 vide order No. 344-Edu of 2015 dated 21.07.2015. The committee comprises chairman and three members. Commissioner/Secretary to Government Education Department, J&K is the Member Secretary of the Committee.
Main function of the committee is to regulate the fee structure of the private educational institutions in the state. The committee also attends to all such complaints against the educational institutions by the parents of the students which relate to over-charging of fee, violation of the orders of the High Court and the government order, issues relating to charging of any amount by whatever name called, collected directly or indirectly by an educational institution for admission and education of a pupil to/in any standard or course of study.
But in absence of an appropriate law, the said committee has become a toothless tiger. A parent said whose child studies in a reputed school in Udhampur said, "Everyone knows about the open loot by private schools but no one speaks on this issue. No one dares to take action against the private school owners."
It remains to be seen whether the BJP-PDP government makes private schools accountable and stop fleecing of helpless parents by these schools. |
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