Faridabad, July 8
With the results out and new academic session on, the private and public schools in the district seem to be busy in publicity and promotion campaigns. The institutes are going hammer and tongs in claiming excellent results, leaving the parents confused about the genuineness of the tall claims made.
The district has over 100 public schools which are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) besides a large number of schools providing education on the pattern of state and affiliated to Haryana Board of School Education, Bhiwani. Dozens of the schools have been issuing press releases every day claiming that their students had done extremely well in the recently declared results of the middle, matric and plus two classes of Haryana Board and the CBSE.
Some of the local newspapers have been allotting at least half to three-fourths of a page in publishing the claims of these schools by forming a news column. Some of the schools and institutes have been releasing paid advertisements to the local print media in order to get space in the news columns.
However, a section of intellectuals and education experts have disliked such a campaign. They have questioned the genuineness of such claims and described them as exaggerated.
It is a fact that while the urban areas have bigger schools with better infrastructure and qualified teaching staff and a majority of them have been affiliated to the CBSE, the situation in unauthorised or backward colonies, slums and rural area is far from satisfactory.
In these areas, schools better known as ‘teaching shops’ have emerged at every nook and corner. One can see a school operating from two or three-room house in various colonies and villages. While the exact number of such schools is not known, it is estimated that the strength could be around one thousand in the district as every village has at least two to four private schools. Several of the schools claim to be registered and recognised by the Education Board of Haryana, but still a good number of them are not affiliated or recognised.
According to state education department sources, many government schools (middle and primary level) do not have the required strength of students, but staff of such schools normally maintain bogus attendance registers of the students as many of the students enrolled in a government school might actually be studying in a private school.
The enrolment in a government school is done to ensure that the student could appear in a board exam as the private school may not be a recognised institute. “But the students study there as the standard of education was better in private schools,” said a teacher here.
He said that the result of private schools had always been better than that in government schools, adding that pass percentage had been about 20 to 25 per cent higher in private schools in comparison to government schools every year. But the majority of parents also believe that overall infrastructure and environment had been poor as private institutes do not have enough rooms, playground, laboratories and other facilities required for good education. The staff of such schools were generally underpaid and exploited.
On the other hand, the staff often make themselves scarce in a government school, claimed a parent couple based at NIT area here.
They alleged that there were many teachers who did not attend the schools regularly but got their attendance recorded. Getting a job of a teacher in a government school was a great achievement these days as salary and other benefits were great, while the responsibility was nil, said a former headmaster.
He said that the wives of many officials and government employees had been employed as government school teachers and manage to get a posting at a desired place due to their links.
There were many posts of teachers and lecturers in many schools, where staff were appointed but had no students while several primary and middle schools had no permanent headmaster or sufficient number of teachers.
It is also noticed that the public and private schools operating in urban and semi-urban areas maintain good links with the authorities and politicians. These institutes keep inviting officials and influential persons to preside over functions in their schools and do not forgot to honour their chief guests at every possible occasion.
On the other hand, social functions, sports events and co-curricular activities are rare in government schools. The general secretary of the ‘Abhibhawak Ekta Manch’ (Parents’ Association) here, Mr Kailash Sharma has alleged that the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) which has allotted plots to over 70 public schools in its urban sectors in Faridabad, had failed to implement the rules and regulations framed by it for the allotment of such plots.
He said despite issuing notices and even resumption notice to some schools, the authorities had failed to take action against the schools which have not abided by the Huda norms regarding admission, fee norms and upgradation.
He said that the parents of children studying in several CBSE-affiliated schools have felt cheated due to uncooperative and
arbitrary attitude in the matter of following the rules.
