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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Pvt schools need to welcome poor kids wholeheartedly
Seminars an exercise in futility? |
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Pvt schools need to welcome poor kids wholeheartedly PRIVATE schools in Haryana have opposed the imposition of Rule 134-A of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, which provides free education to 25 per cent students belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) in private school. The owners of such schools claim that this rule would force the closure of many schools as they don’t get any financial help from the government. They say that in attempt to survive, they will have to pass on the additional financial burden to the existing students to open the door for EWS students. The Act, which came into force on April 1, 2010, has given legal status to education similar to the right to life as provided by Article 21-A of the Constitution. Every child in the age group of 6-14 years will be offered free elementary education in the vicinity of his or her neighbourhood. Accordingly, private schools are required to enrol children from weaker sections and disadvantaged communities to the extent of 25 per cent of their enrolment by random selection. The Act has made it clear that no seats in this quota can be left vacant. These children from poor families will be treated on a par with other students in government as well private schools. Technically, the Haryana Government has already implemented the provisions but it has apparently failed to put it into practice due to resistance from the private school owners. At the time of seeking recognition, the owners of private schools give an undertaking to fulfil their social responsibility, including admission of 25 per cent children belonging to economically weaker sections. The private school owners know that as per the provisions of the RTE Act, it is mandatory for them to admit these children. But many of them have been trying to create confusion stating that the fee of these 25 per cent pupils will be charged from the rest of the students. They are actually trying to build up an environment for fee hike in the name of the RTE Act. Insiders say they have already increased fee by 25-200 per cent to “enhance the salary of teachers in view of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations”. But the fact is that many teachers and other staff are still highly underpaid. Many of them do not even get the minimum wages of an unskilled worker. Private schools wrongly claim that the government has not helped them in anyway. It is learnt that 450 schools have got the land from the Haryana Urban Development Authority at low rates. In the same manner, many schools are being run on the common land left by colonisers as per rules of the state government. Also, private schools are exempted from many taxes. Unfortunately, education has become an industry in the state. Imparting education is not a charity for them. Their sole purpose is to earn maximum profit by any means. Therefore, heavy fees are charged from students. Even books, uniforms and stationary are sold in these schools. On the other hand, many schools don’t have the requisite infrastructural facilities like proper building, benches, drinking water and toilets. The policies of the state government are also responsible for this situation, as government schools have been ignored apparently to support the private sector. According to reports, 50,000 posts of teachers, 2,200 posts of middle school headmasters, 1,000 posts of high school headmasters and 700 posts of senior secondary school headmasters are lying vacant in government schools of Haryana. Almost 40 per cent posts of non-teaching staff are lying vacant. At some places, posts of even district education officers are lying vacant. The Right to Education Act can be made successful by sincere efforts of government as well society. The government should formulate rules for social control over private schools to ensure timely intervention of groups comprising social activists and parents. Also, the common man will have to take interest in the affairs of schools. At the same time, private school owners should also understand their social responsibility. In case of small schools, the government should help their owners to compensate the extra financial burden in lieu of admission of children from poor families. |
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Seminars an exercise in futility? NOWADAYS colleges have gone overboard in organising seminars. There are times when a college may hold not one but two-three seminars in a month’s time. What a mad race! Seminars have become so common that dozens of invitations pour in every week. Never mind the quality of presentations and the lukewarm response of the audience, seminars are being held at a feverish pace. The benevolent UGC is there to give grants for the seminars, which of course will be factored in as the expenditure on higher education. There is a sudden acceleration in seminar activity at the end of every financial year to exhaust the funds, so that the grant does not lapse. It is another matter that the peak seminar season coincides with the fag end of the academic session, when there is pressure to complete syllabi. The classes and students can wait but the seminars must be held to get the brownie points for the colleges. For the faculty members, seminars have become compulsion to acquire requisite points for their career progression. There is hardly any “originality” in majority of the papers presented. It is a hard fact that the degree of research in most of the cases does not go beyond “cut and paste”. Some speakers may be brilliant, their content original, but many are wide off the mark, dishing out “recycled” matter in an insipid manner. Sadly, the fancy brochures, high-sounding title and captivating topics of seminars normally do not get translated into worthwhile outcome. Rather seminars have been reduced to a meaningless exercise in futility. Earlier, there might have been some significance when experts were expected to deliberate on important issues but ever since seminars have become more or less a compulsion, standards have drastically come down. Presenting a paper or participation in a seminar is just a formality. It is not the quality of papers which is disappointing but equally discouraging is the lack of response from the delegates. This makes arranging audience for the seminar a daunting task for the organisers, which is no less than managing crowd for a political rally. Students have to be plucked out of the classes and herded into the seminar hall. It does not matter which stream they belong to, whether the topic of deliberation is of any relevance to them or not, they must fill the seminar hall. If that does not yield respectable number, hostellers may be targeted to occupy the seats. Another fallout of seminar frenzy is its impact on studies and student-related activities. With so much of time and energy devoted to organising seminars, where is the time for holding competitions for students? Before seminars caught the fancy of the colleges, there used to be a number of competitions, including debates, declamations, etc., for students, but now the focus has shifted from student-centric activities to seminars which are essentially meant for faculty members. What to talk about activities for students, even studies take a back seat. Teaching may be neglected for days together in preparation of seminars. Therefore, it is time to ponder over the futility of holding seminars so frequently, since the baffling rate at which the seminars are being held has turned the colleges into “seminar-churning machines”. There is need to pause and reflect over this seminar frenzy. The writer is an Associate Professor |
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CAMPUS
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Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar GURU Nanak Dev University has released the admission schedule for its affiliated colleges for the 2012-13 academic session. The Registrar, Dr Inderjit Singh, said the normal dates of admission for the B.Ed course will be from July 21 to August 20, as per a notification of the Punjab Government. He said the scheduled dates of admission for the M.Ed course will be from July 25 to August 11 and with the late fee of Rs 50 (with the approval of the Principal) will be August 13 to 20 and with the late fee of Rs 100 (with the approval of Dean, Academic Affairs) will be from August 21 to 28 and with the late fee of Rs 1,000 (with the approval of Vice-Chancellor) from August 29 to September 5. Dr Inderjit said the scheduled dates of admission for PGDCA (Teacher Education) will be August 17 to 31 and with the late fee of Rs 50 (with the approval of the Principal), will be September 1 to 8 and with the late fee of Rs 100 (with the approval of Dean, Academic Affairs) will be from September 10 to 17 and with the late fee of Rs 1,000 (with the approval of Vice-Chancellor) from September 18 to 25. He said for further details about the admission schedule, the students can contact the registration branch and general branch of the university.
Scholarships distributed
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. A.S. Brar, distributed scholarships worth Rs 1.70 lakh to the needy students of the university recently. The amount was distributed under the Rs 50-lakh endowment fund created by Tej Singh Butalia and Jasbir Kaur Butalia in the memory of their parents. The university extends scholarship amount out of the interest of this endowment fund. Professor Brar said while half of the interest amount has been distributed, the other half has been kept reserved only to be distributed among the needy students at the time of admission.
Concession for Kashmiri migrants
The university has decided to give special concession to Kashmiri migrants who desire to seek admission to various technical and professional courses at the university from this academic session. The Syndicate of the university has already accorded its approval. The Registrar, Dr Inderjit Singh, said if a Kashmiri applicant meets all the requirements, then he or she will get admission in the technical or professional departments on the university campus and its regional campuses and constituent colleges. "In case there is more than one candidate, the admission may be granted on the basis of marks obtained in their qualifying exam as per university rules,” he said.
Cancelled BA paper on May 12
The BA (Part III) paper of public administration, which was scheduled to be held on April 28 but was later cancelled, will now be held on May 12. Dr R. K. Mahajan, Professor In charge (examination), said, “The paper was cancelled due to some administrative reasons. However, the examination centre and the time of examination would remain the same. The students can approach the concerned examination branch for further clarifications,” he said.
Summer food festival
The Department of Food Science and Technology will organise “Summer Food Festival-University Industry Interaction-2012” from May 19 to May 20 at Guru Nanak Bhawan of the university. Dr R.S.S. Kaler, Head of the Department, said the event will be a blend of technical presentations, including exhibition stalls, cultural evenings and brain-storming sessions. It will boost the university-food industry rapport and will provide a platform to share the current scenario of food processing in Punjab, he said. Industries will also be encouraged to have collaborations with the department to promote research, he added. — Contributed by G. S. Paul |
