Private schools’ body flags hurdles, harassment in meeting with CM

Srinagar, Oct 30: The private schools’ on Wednesday voiced their concern before the Chief Minister during his meeting with the civil society. The association highlighted hurdles and harassment faced by the private schools during the last 10 years.

Speaking during the civil society meeting, President Private Schools Association J&KJ (PSAJK) G  N Var narrated that in India and all over the world, books and children were not treated as a component that causes pollution but in J&K the private schools were asked to get a clearance from pollution control board.

“As per the Act we are liable for only three  NOCs but we have been asked to produce 41 NoCs from different departments.”

Var said that some private schools have been running for 80 or 100 years but these schools were asked to get  political non-involvement certificates.

“I will give you an example of St. Joseph school which is a 125-year-old school. It has been asked to get a political non-involvement certificate,” he said.

Var said that the literacy rate is 10 percent lower than that of Jammu.

“By a rough estimate one-third of the population is in schools and colleges. In private schools, if we talk about Kashmir, approximately 6.5 lakh students are in our schools,” he said.

G N Var further stated that the Act says that there should be representation of private schools in every committee but instead of giving them representation they are not taken on board for making policy decisions.

“I was the only member and I was also removed without any reason. Education is the future of the nation. At this time, our question is that  in the name of activities, academics have gone into the background,” he said.

He said that there has been a lot of learning loss and learning gaps persist  as well.

“We fail to understand what is the logic behind keeping 41 NoCs for private schools. When a bureaucrat sits on a chair, he thinks that he has gained all the knowledge overnight. We have been understanding education for 30-40 years,” he said.

Referring to the fee fixation committee, Var said that private schools have been put in such a trap that they “cannot breathe.”

“There are four or five people in the fee committee. There is no such act in any corner of the world that the fee committee will fix a determinant revenue fee. It is against the constitution,” Var said.

He urged the J&K Chief Minister to ensure that the practice of private school proprietors facing humiliation over the past several years should cease.