The agitation against the ‘hegemony’ of private schools owners is intensifying with each passing day. On Tuesday, many parents and social organisations under the banner of Uttarakhand Mahila Manch (UMM) gathered outside the residence of State Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani and shouted slogans against the ‘apathetic attitude’ of State Government towards the problems of parents.
More than twenty social organisations and activists of UMM had recently joined hands against alleged loot of private school operators and termed their agitation as Shiksha Jansangarsh Abhiyan. The activists were agitated as the Education Minister had assured them on March 17 that within five days he would convene a meeting of all private school owners on the issue but nothing happened since then. The activists tried to enter the house of Minister but were prevented by the police personnel.
There was minor skirmish between them as some activists tried to scale the wall of the Minister’s residence. The infuriated activists sat on a dharna and demanded that the State Government should take concrete steps to rein in the private schools and at the same time should ensure drastic improvement in the Government schools.
The president of UMM Kamla Pant said the State Government should stop the private schools from arbitrarily increasing the fees every year. She said to improve the condition of Government schools the Government employees and the Minister/legislators should compulsorily send their wards to these schools. The district coordinator of AAP Sanjay Bhatt alleged the Education Minister did not have time meet the agitated parents as he was reportedly busy searching his stolen calf.
The activists pasted pamphlet mentioning ‘missing minister’ on the entrance of minister’s residence. The DAV student union, ABVP and Yuva Sena activists took their agitation to the courtyard of prominent schools of the city on Tuesday. The ABVP activists protested at Heritage School and demanded rollback of increase of fees.
A delegation later met the chairman of the school Avdhesh Chaudhary and handed over a memorandum. Similarly the students of DAV student union gathered outside Doon International School and staged a vociferous protest. The students raised a commotion in the school campus and forced a shop selling books and stationery to close.
The members of the student union held later held talks with the school management and demanded that the school should stop selling stationery in the campus. The chairman of the school DS Man told The Pioneer that one of a bookseller C J Enterprises was provided a place in the school campus for the convenience of parents. He claimed the school had nothing to do with the bookseller and parents were free to purchase books and stationery from anywhere.
The activists of Yuva Sena — youth wing of Shiv Sena- also staged a protest meeting outside the Saint Joseph’s Academy and demanded roll back in school fees and freedom for the parents to purchase books and stationery from any bookshop.