Private schools being maligned, bullied: PSAJK

Private Schools Association members addressing press conference at Srinagar on Tuesday. —Excelsior/Shakeel
Private Schools Association members addressing press conference at Srinagar on Tuesday. —Excelsior/Shakeel

Excelsior Correspondent

Srinagar, Nov 13: Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) while coming heavily on the administration today alleged that the local private schools are being maligned, humiliated and bullied.
While addressing a press conference here today, they alleged that over the last few weeks there has been a sustained effort to undermine the private education sector in Kashmir, which has created a dangerous situation for the entire society.

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The Association while condemning the move said that the certain lobby in administration and few other quarters who in one way or other are trying to destroy the fledgling private education sector in Kashmir.
G N Var, chairman PSAJK said that Legal Metrology Department, Directorate of School Education, Fee Fixation Committee, district administration and everybody who wields some sort of power are swooping down on small private schools to harass them. In the name of selling books, schools are being targeted unnecessarily.
“Today running a private school has become a herculean task. With mudslinging, barrage of allegations and character assassinations, private schools are being labelled as some kind of criminals,” he said.
War said incidentally, there is no rule which specifically says that schools cannot keep books in their schools for sale. In fact in February this year, High Court in New Delhi had allowed the sale of books, uniforms in schools at the tuck shops set up at affiliated schools across the country, holding that the sale of such items does not amount to “commercialization” of education.
“If the Government was sincere about selling of books in private schools, why didn’t they take up the issue when the big schools like Missionary Schools sold every book, notebook and stationery items from their schools? Where were they when these schools forced parents to buy everything from their schools? This has been their practice for more than 20 years, yet they were never raided. It was only when the admission time in local private schools came, the Government suddenly wakes up. Two respected private schools like Green Valley and R P School were given harsh punishment even as no hand was laid on Missionary Schools despite later being way too costly,” he said.
“In an ideal situation, the Government should have emulated the private school model and revolutionized the education sector. They could have provided the best education to the lowest of strata using our model but what they are doing is to destroy the only successful model of education in Kashmir. This shows their intent,” he said.

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