AAP govt good news for RTE activists, pvt schools worried

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 14 Februari 2015 | 22.10

NEW DELHI: Having Aam Aadmi Party back in power is good news for Right to Education activists. They now have a government that's "interested." This was one area of governance that AAP had successfully stirred up during its 49-day stint. The activists didn't approve of all the measures but agree that the "hulchul" helped.

"Within three days, the government managed to get data with the help of volunteers on the status of compliance with the RTE Act's infrastructure norms in over 900 government schools," says Kumar Ratan of National Coalition for Education (NCE). While the volunteer system undermined the RTE-mandated school management committees, it also signalled AAP's willingness to actively involve the community in the running of schools.

"Education systems need participation of people and AAP gave civil society that space," observed Ambarish Rai, national convener, Right to Education Forum. He intends to meet the new minister and ask him to "do it right" this time and begin with child-mapping—another RTE Act requirement that wasn't fulfilled; strengthen the grievance redress and monitoring systems; and bring ordinary government schools to the standard of the special category ones. NCE is also thankful to AAP's Manish Sisodia who, in his first stint as Delhi's education minister, had halted the PPP project envisioned by a municipal body. "Sisodia has repeatedly stated that education is the state's responsibility," said Ratan. "AAP's win is good news but they should uphold legal arrangements like school management committees and not further marginalize them."

Private school managements are reacting to AAP's victory with cautious optimism. One school association chief admits he's "apprehensive." When AAP was in power, they had fully supported the nursery admission guidelines based on the LG's order and took steps to tighten the screws on private schools. When HC upheld the autonomy of private schools in deciding nursery criteria in November, Sisodia had issued a statement against it. All this—together with talk of fee regulation—has one principal saying, "I know we'll be troubled for the next five years."

Private school associations are willing to assist the government. "There could be an interesting interdependence between government and private schools. We could share resources, have common training programmes. Private schools will be happy to help out," says Ameeta Mulla Wattal, chairperson, National Progressive Schools Conference.

Members of the action committee for Unaided Recognized Public Schools, which fought in court the LG guidelines that AAP had so strenuously backed, will meet the new minister to "tell them about us (private schools), our performance and our problems." "I hope they'll think of the interest of the people and ensure that government schools are functioning," says action committee president, SK Bhattacharya.

"The government's policy shouldn't be based on rumours such as private schools fleece parents and have discriminatory admission policies," comments Sushil Salwan, chairperson, Salwan Education Trust. Interestingly, Salwan believes that the first AAP government "neither expressed nor took steps that were anti-private schools." He feels they were simply trying to "plug loopholes" in the existing system.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Manish Sisodia,Ambarish Rai,AAP

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