The incessant struggle of the All Uttarakhand Parents Association to highlight the whimsical and dictatorial attitude of private school operators appeared to be bearing fruit as Chief Minister Harish Rawat has asked the State Education department to draft a policy for these schools.
The Chief Minister ordered the department to put in a place a system which would determine the admission process and fees structure of the private school.
Further, a regulatory authority with two tier system of complaints and appeals would also be set up to address the grievance of parents.
Rawat also asked the senior officials of the administration and education to enforce the provisions of Right to Education (RTE) in right earnest in the private schools. In another related development the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Dehradun, SP Khali has asked all the private schools to ensure that Parent Teacher Association (PTA) was established in them within next 15 days.
It is worth mentioning here that in a recent hearing the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child rights, taking cognizance of complaints of Parents association, had ordered the Education department to present a factual report of the alleged dictatorial attitude of private schools within three months.
The Commission took exception to the rising number of cases of violation of RTE by the private schools.
Seemingly elated with the series of positive developments the president of Parents Association Neeraj Singhal told The Pioneer that the efforts of association had pushed the authorities to take some face saving measures which would rein in the unbridled private school operators.
He welcomed the decision of the State Government to constitute a regulatory authority but demanded that members from association should be included in the drafting committee so that an effective draft was made for the authority.
The members of the association held a meeting in State Capital on Sunday and reviewed the action taken by the district administration and Education department on the complaints of the parents. The members demanded that the Education department initiate a legal action against the school on which the charges of violation of RTE are proved.
Singhal said the association would continue its fight against the private school operators so that hapless parents get some relief.