On Wednesday, a delegation from the Jharkhand Parents Association (JPA) met with Jagarnath Lohara, the District Education Officer, to discuss arbitrary practices by private schools. During the meeting, five demands were presented to address concerns regarding various aspects of school management. Members of the Inspection Committee, Kaushal Kishor and Ajit Kumar Thakur, were also present.
Mahendra Rai, the District President of the Association and a member of the District Inspection Committee, highlighted significant changes made by Bokaro's Private school management in the annual charges, developing charges, book lists, and fee charts for the academic sessions 2023-24 and 2024-25. He expressed concern that textbooks from all private schools are only available at designated book centers approved by school management. This practice deprives parents of discounts ranging from 20% to 40% available at general bookstores.
The delegation expressed its desire to gather information from all allocated private schools regarding the availability of textbooks at various book centers in the market. They also requested details about which book centers are being designated by school management for their books and demanded copies of the agreements between the book centers and school administrations.
Furthermore, the delegation sought copies of book lists, fee charts, annual charges, developing charges, and re-admission charges for the academic sessions 2023-24 and 2024-25 from schools like Chinmaya, DPS, GGPS, Ayyappa, Pentecostal, MGM, Holycross, Bokaro Public School, Crescent Public School, St xavier and Sardar Patel School. They urged all private schools to provide the requested information within seven days for transparency and accountability.
Notably prompted by specific inputs, DC Bokaro, Vijaya Jadhav, took decisive action by spearheading initiatives resulting in the formation of a parents' committee. Stressing the pivotal role of parental involvement in shaping the education system. Parents warmly welcomed this proactive step, expressing optimism about its potential to bring about positive changes and enhance the educational landscape for their children , particularly in Bokaro, renowned as a national educational hub.
