It is praiseworthy that the Minister for Education, Social Welfare, Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo has taken the cognizance over the issue of private schools taking arbitrary decisions to put unjustified financial burdens on parents.
Reportedly, the Education Minister has directed the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) authorities to take firm action against Private schools indulging in arbitrary fee hikes and found violating prescribed norms.
The Education Minister passed on these directions while chairing a comprehensive review meeting at Civil Secretariat here to assess the performance, administrative functioning and ongoing academic reforms of JKBOSE. Such steps are necessary because there are certain private educational institutions in the region that adopt predatory practice of hiking school fee on their own and without any justification besides forcing the parents to buy books, uniforms, bags, and in some cases even water bottles and pencil boxes from specific shops in order to mint extra bucks although in their vision and mission documents, these schools have shown their primary motive to nurture the nation’s future by providing holistic education.
The issue of private schools indulging in such arbitrariness no doubt is archaic as this practice is age old with parents becoming victims but lately things have gone out of proportions. It is therefore necessary that the government at the highest level should come up with regulations and their implementation ensuring that no private school can fleece the parents anymore. The directions given by the Education Minister in this regard are both timely and needful because a new academic session is already on cards and therefore strictness against erring schools is the need of the hour.
The government should make it clear that any deviation from norms would be viewed seriously and action will be taken as per the provisions of law which inter-alia includes de-recognition of schools. Such steps are necessary to deter the private schools from indulging in unethical practices and fleecing the parents by putting unnecessary financial burden.
Government should carry out periodic audits of school accounts and must ask these institutions to have a grievance redressal mechanism for parents, which will go a long way in restoring trust. Parents, too, should be made aware of their rights to make them bold enough to raise their voice against any unjustified demand by these schools.
All said and done, the Education Minister should also go for a follow up in the matter to ensure fair deal for the parents and their children pursuing studies in private schools.
