School fee report kept under wraps
Sakaal Times: A crucial report by an advisory committee on school fees has been virtually kept out of the public scrutiny as it is not easily accessible to parents who happen to be the most important stake holders in the issue.
Now, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education plans to publish it in Marathi and a deadline for objections is also to be extended.
The state government had appointed an advisory committee headed by former bureaucrat Kumud Bansal to recommend norms on fee structures for unaided private schools. The Committee had submitted its draft report on Oct 15.
The committee has favored complete autonomy to schools in deciding the fees. It has recommended 15 % `reasonable` surplus to schools and has entrusted Parent Teacher Association (PTA), a non-effective body in most schools, with the job of verifying audits of the school and approval of fee hike proposals. The role of the proposed State Statutory Committee is limited to redressing the complaints of PTA .
The state government had asked the stakeholders to submit their views on the report before Nov 21. Not many have responded as the report is not easily accessible.
The report is published on the government website( www.maharashtra.gov.in) but is impossible to trace as it is lost in the list of innumerable Government Resolutions.
Besides, it is available only in English and not in the state language Marathi. After the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) dashed a letter to the director of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education and also to the member-secretary of the committee, Bhalchandra Desale, demanding report in Marathi, the directorate has outsourced the job of its translation.
Desale, while speaking to Sakaal Times said, “Report has quoted Supreme Court judgments at many places and hence was published in English.
But now we are getting it translated into Marathi. It will not be however a verbatim translation. The gist of the report will be published on government’s website under section for school education department. I have also asked government to extend the deadline for submission of comments and suggestions on the report.”
Meanwhile, Forum Against Commercialization of Education at a press conference on Tuesday also pressed for Marathi version of the report. Sandeep Barve, president of the forum, lamented that parents are in dark about the vital report as directorate of education did not have its separate portal to publish it.
WAKE UP PARENTS
Parents can download the Bansal report from state government website (www.maharashtra.gov.in). They may click a link of Government Resolution under section named ‘government employee’. They need to search for a GR dated 16-10-2009. A complete report along with two dissent notes is available. Parents have to submit their views to the director, Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (Central Building, Phone no: 020-26122491) before Nov 21.
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