The second death of a child in a prestigious private school in less than three years has set alarm bells ringing, and rightly so. Media raised a hue and cry the last time this happened, but as usual, both the media and the public got tired of following the incident, and after a month or two, the case died a natural death.
Come admission time in October, and this second tragic incident will slowly fade, and will be finally erased from the public memory. Parents will compete to get their children admitted into one of these schools, and those who get in, will be too scared to open their mouths and criticise the management at PTA meetings. And life will go on.
Government vs Private Schools
It’s high time we take a long, hard look at what’s going on in our schools. It’s time to introspect about what is our role as parents, and as members of a society in ensuring quality education for our children.
Last year (2016), I got an opportunity to observe closely the work done by some NGOs, dedicated to improving the quality of education in Delhi’s government schools. I was pleasantly surprised to find an all-round improvement of standards. In fact, one can find a number of dedicated professionals who are working inside or in cooperation with government schools all over India.
It goes without saying that governments and NGOs are not driven by profit motive.
On the other hand, many private schools have become nothing but teaching shops, whose promoters hanker after power and money.
They lure parents with glossy brochures and impressive orientation talks during admission season. Once the child is in, parents are supposed to keep their hands off and leave the child at the mercy of the school management.
It’s not a question of one Ryan International or XYZ school. The rot is deeper. The child, who should be at the centre of the universe, is nothing but a satellite on the periphery of the solar system, which is dominated by the school management, and to a lesser extent, the teaching and non-teaching staff.
Safety First
A couple of years ago, a child’s body had been found floating lifelessly inside a tank in another branch of the same school.
How the child climbed into the tank, and why was the lid open – all these questions were never satisfactorily explained. Similarly, in the current incident, the broken boundary wall, the staff using toilet meant for the students, and other such lapses, point towards gross negligence.
Safety should be paramount in a school; the moment a child steps inside the school premises, it should be the duty of the school management to ensure the physical and psychological well-being of a child.
The reality, however, is shockingly different. Take a surprise survey of any average “public” school (a misnomer, as these schools are privately managed): What you will find in the poshest of schools (and not only government schools) are filthy bathrooms with broken latches, inadequate cooling or heating , mosquitoes breeding in coolers, lizards in drinking water tanks that are seldom cleaned, sweepers and watch staff missing during duty hours, and so on.
Obsession with Results
In private schools, teaching staff members are often assigned extra administrative duties, which they are unable to cope up with. A complete lack of vision ensures that the lofty goal of imparting a holistic education remains only on paper.
Teachers and staff are habitually harsh towards students. In such a scenario, it is no surprise that children shy away from approaching their teachers in case they are facing problems, such as bullying or even sexual harassment, in school.
Teachers are obsessed with exam results, especially in higher classes, because good results mean more parents seeking admission for their wards. Everything else becomes secondary.
Coming to the role of the regulator, most private, unaided private institutions are registered as Charitable Trusts or Societies under respective State Acts.
These schools are granted registration under Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions, and their income is exempt; however, application of income by these trusts and societies can be scrutinised any time, as also nature of donations/contributions received by these schools (voluntary donations are exempt from taxation in the hands of donors under Section 80 (G).
The National Commission, in its judgment on Bhupesh Khurana and Ors vs Vishwa Buddha Parishad and Ors has confirmed the concept of the student being a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act 1986 (CPA), based on the Supreme Court ruling in Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board vs A Rajappa and Ors.
A Need to Make Schools Accountable
However, not many parents are aware of the legal remedies available under CPA.
The craze for educating their children in English-medium schools, sometimes turns parents blind to the shortcomings of these schools. And as the recent film Hindi Medium (2017) shows, some parents count on admission to posh schools as their ticket to upward social mobility.
The film also exposed the so-called educationists from premium schools, who misuse the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quota, under which it is mandatory for schools to admit students from socially and economically weaker sections of society. The Delhi government is known to have cracked down upon private schools for EWS quota misuse, along with an unjustified rise in fees.
Today, private schools in Delhi are covered under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Not just the media, but even parents or students can question how fees collected from the students, as well as voluntary donations, are utilised.
It is time all of us act as responsible citizens and consumers, and make schools accountable. Let us start by asking uncomfortable questions of the management. We owe it to our children – our national assets.
(The author is a civil servant. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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