Several parents have been complaining about harassment by private schools in the name of fees recovery during the current pandemic. Besides, the parents of school students in Uttarakhand also recently protested and accused the State Government of issuing orders under the influence of private schools to benefit them while ignoring the welfare of students.
On top of this, the recent statement made by State Education Minister Arvind Pandey asking parents to send their children to Government schools if they find private schools expensive also infuriated several parents. If the Government schools were providing quality education here, the parents would prefer them to private schools, said a local businessman Ajay Gusain. “There are several anomalies in a Government school including over packed classes, lack of proper academic resources and improperly maintained school buildings.
Even the teachers of Government schools do not send their children to these schools. So before passing any random suggestion, our ministers should at least be aware of the source of the problem,” said Gusain.
Many parents also opined that such statements from the Education Minister implies that he favours private school management and their ways of recovering charges besides tuition fees in the current pandemic. “Now if we complain to our government about schools forcing us to pay the fees including transportation charges, lab charges and charges of extracurricular activities in the current crisis, our Government lectures us to send our children to government schools instead of stopping the harassment by private schools,” said a homemaker Deepshikha Goyal. She further said that the situation of Government schools is not hidden from anyone and if this government has been doing half the work of what the Delhi government had done in the school education sector, the people here will be sending their kids to Government schools too.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Government has also announced to start two English medium schools in every block of State. Asked if parents will send their children to government English medium schools, several parents replied that it is just a feeble attempt by the Government to provide a better option among many other worst Government schools.
“I will of course, send my children to these schools if they will provide quality education and good ambiance for students. The Government has more resources than private school management to run a school providing quality education. But instead of opening new Government schools, the Government should revive and restore those several Government schools in rural and suburban areas where one cannot find even a decent qualified teacher,” said a college professor Mohit Negi.
Many also opined that in the last five years, the State Government had made no significant contribution to improve the education system in the Government schools across the State. According to them, the State Government should first try to make other government schools better in Uttarakhand before starting the new schools.