M A I N   N E W S

Panchayats may run schools
From Raman Mohan

HISAR, April 9 — The Haryana Government is actively considering handing over primary schools in the State to village panchayats as part of its new education policy likely to be implemented when the schools reopen after summer vacation, it is learnt.

According to highly placed sources the panchayats may be allocated special funds for the first year to help them cope with teething troubles. Thereafter, the panchayats will have to raise funds for running these schools and improve the standard of primary education.

The sources said the falling standards of primary education and the rising truancy both among teachers and students were the main concerns of the government. It had been noticed that the lack of proper facilities in these schools boosted the dropout rate among students and teachers took little interest in their work. The government was finding it hard to correct these maladies in the absence of funds.

The idea is based on a similar experiment, which proved to be a success in neighbouring Rajasthan where now primary schools are the responsibility of the village panchayats. The panchayats raise the funds themselves and truancy both among students and teachers had been eliminated completely since the villagers administered the schools through their elected representatives.

According to the sources, the issue will be discussed at length at two separate high level meetings scheduled to be hold at Chandigarh tomorrow under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister Mr Om Parkash Chautala, Senior Officers, educationists and experienced teachers have been invited to join the deliberations.

They said if the experiment at the primary level proved to be success, the same pattern would be followed at the middle, matric and senior secondary levels. Under this scheme, the schools in cities may be handed over to the zila parishads or local self government bodies.

The sources said the other important aspect of the new policy now being framed is the thrust on information technology. Computer education is planned to be made compulsory. The government planned to introduce computer courses in all schools by the next year. For the present, it is proposed to introduce these subjects from July next in as many schools as possible.

However, in view of paucity of funds, the government is seeking help of the private sector computer education companies such as Aptech and NIIT. The top brass of these companies has been invited to tomorrow’s meeting where they will give a presentation on school computer courses.

The sources said the government was planning to provide rooms and other facilities to these companies in government schools in exchange for which they would charge nominal fees from students. After school hours, these companies will be permitted to run computer-training centres in these schools to make the plan financially viable.

The sources said under the new education policy, vocational education is planned to be metamorphosed. It is proposed to do away with all the present trades currently being taught in schools and vocational training centres run by the government since there were no employment opportunities for the trainees. Therefore, trades like carpentry, welding and lathe operation will be done away with.

Instead, it is planned to introduce area specific vocational courses in different parts of the state. For example, Panipat had a booming handloom industry. It is planned to introduce courses in that district which would help provide trained personnel for this trade. Likewise other new courses will include auto-engineering, electronics and computers since the district had job potential for skilled personnel in these fields.

A recent government study has indicated that new industrial units being set up in different parts of the state employed locals only as unskilled labour. The jobs requiring specialised skills were bagged by youths from the neighbouring states mostly Delhi. The new scheme of vocational training will help eliminate this discrepancy, the sources added.

It is learnt that the changes in vocational education have been prompted by the government expectations that foreign-based companies will invest Rs 3,000 crore in new projects in Haryana over the next few years. These projects will require about 65,000 skilled personnel.