Unaffordable Pvt Schools - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

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Unaffordable Pvt Schools

5/17/2022 11:07:36 PM

Enrolment of students in private schools in Jammu and Kashmir is on decline. Parents are shifting their children from private schools to government run institutions as they are unable to afford the hefty fee and other charges that private schools demand every now and then.
Past two years have been very difficult for the people due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic heavily impacted the economy of the middle class as many people lost their jobs and suffered immense losses in their businesses.
When schools reopened after a 2-year break, the government had directed the administrations of private schools to facilitate the return of children to the classrooms and not to overburden the parents by imposing extra charges and fee. The instructions were clear that the students should be allowed to settle down.
But soon after the schools reopened, the managements of these institutions went back to their old tactics and issued diktats like to buy the books and uniforms from selected shops. Made the students pay annual charges and in many cases didn’t allow the students to join back whose parents were unable to clear their dues during the 2-year long pandemic.
In order to ensure that private schools don’t exploit the parents, the government has constituted the Fee Fixation and Regulation Committee (FFRC) to decide, determine and regulate the fee to be charged and collected by the private schools. Despite FFRC sending notices to various schools, nothing much has changed. These institutions are charging as per their whims and fancies.
Parents who are unable to afford the expensive private schools have shifted their wards to the government run institutions. The private schools continue to put a heavy burden on the pockets of parents. People opting for government schools is an encouraging trend. The Directorates of School Education in Jammu and Kashmir should ensure that the parents who are admitting their children in the government run institutions don’t have to look back towards the private schools. The government pays its teachers very well. The teachers need to deliver with utmost sincerity and dedication. They should bear in mind that the students in the government schools don’t come from affluent families. They need extra care so that they can achieve something in their lives.
The government needs to make it clear to the private schools that Right to Education is a fundamental right and that these schools cannot deny this right to children by making money as the sole criteria for providing education.

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