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Right to Education Act
RTE Act catches private schools
in a piquant situation
21 schools in Fazilka don’t want affiliation renewed
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Gang canal closed for 40 days for repair
Abohar water works in shambles
Amogh Division distributes computers to schools
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Right to Education Act
Muktsar, April 15 For instance, the education department again extended the time limit for private schools to send in their self-declaration forms from March 12 to an undecided date this time. At a time when the deadline for private schools to register with the government has expired, 24 private schools in Muktsar district failed to send their self-declaration forms to the education department. As per rules, if these schools failed to submit the required forms before the last date, they had to be closed from April 1. But in reality, nothing has happened and the education department continues receiving applications from the schools. "Earlier, an extension of five months was given to private schools in October last year, which expired in the middle of March. Now, the senior officials have again ordered us to continue receiving the self-declaration forms from private schools," said District Education Officer (DEO) Devinder Kumar Rajouria. Asked about the last date, Rajouria said, "This time, no last date has been fixed. We have to send the self-declaration forms of all schools, except of those schools which have shown their willingness to close down." Giving details about the district, he said seven schools were yet to send in their self-declaration forms. "Besides, 15 schools have shown their willingness to close down from this academic session," added the DEO. It may be mentioned here that the RTE Act had come into force across the country on April 1, 2010. As per the Act, all private schools have to fill self-declaration forms giving details of their infrastructure and other facilities available. The schools would then be inspected by the staff of the education department and if found to be complying with the infrastructure and other norms laid down under the Act, they would be given recognition. The Act further says that all recognised private schools will reserve 25 per cent of their seats for children belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS). There are 295 private schools in Muktsar district. Director General of School Education (DGSE) Kahan Singh Pannu could not be contacted for his comments. |
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RTE Act catches private schools
in a piquant situation
Faridkot, April 15 The Act mandates that no student at the elementary level (up to class VIII) can be held back for poor performance in the annual exam. Therefore, some private schools are facing a tough time in dealing with the 'poor' performing students as it brings down their overall standard. The compulsory elevation of the poor performing students is a major weakness in the RTE Act, discouraging the students to put in hard work, regretted some private schools in the area which are known for retrenching low-performing students to achieve 100 per cent success rate. Recently, the management of these schools had called on the Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot, to inform him about the difficulty they were facing in implementing the new Act. Even parents are not accepting the 'failure' of their wards at the Plus One level, forcing the school authorities to declare them as having passed, said the officials of these private schools. The RTE Act provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or is required to pass a Board examination until the completion of elementary education. Sikander Singh Maluka, Education Minister, had said that all private schools have to strictly adhere to the RTE Act. The schools should provide special training to the poor performing students to bring them at par with the other students of their age, the minister had stated. While the government seems hopeful that the compulsory elevation of the students would improve the standards of education, a closer look at the fine print of the Act reveals major weaknesses in it, said The problem is more acute in some government schools that run under the Panchayati Raj system. This year, many schools had to promote students which had not even appeared in the exam. Besides the teacher and students, the RTE should cover parents also so that they are made responsible for sending the students to school, said a senior functionary in the education department at Faridkot. The education department is even providing transportation facility to the elementary students in government schools to improve their attendance, said Dharambir Singh, Deputy District Education Officer, Faridkot. |
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21 schools in Fazilka don’t want affiliation renewed
Fazilka, April 15 “The management of 21 schools who have been running their institutions on small premises have not applied for renewal,” said District Education Officer (DEO), Fazilka, Sandeep Dhuria. The DEO disclosed that the managements of as many as 389 schools have applied for the renewal of affiliation in Fazilka district. Those who will not be able to fulfill the conditions imposed by the department will find their affiliation cancelled. But they have been given provisional affiliation, the DEO said. According to Dhuria, nine stringent conditions have been imposed to run the schools. These conditions make it mandatory for the management to run the schools in a defined area with marked designs for classroom. They should also have provisions for playground, toilets and pure drinking water. The authorities have conducted an inspection of the infrastructure being provided by the schools recently. “Schools which do not fulfill the desired parameters have been directed to fulfill the conditions by the time of next inspection which would be conducted soon,” said an official. Most schools which do not apply for the affiliation belong to the Abohar area of Fazilka district. “These institutions shall have to abide by the norms and no relaxation would be offered to them under RTE Act,” said Dhuria.
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Gang canal closed for 40 days for repair
Abohar, April 15 Scores of officials in Sriganganagar and Abohar irrigation circles have been deployed to monitor the work to ensure its completion by May 18. The Kisan Sangharsh Samiti has also joined in the monitoring to keep a vigil on the quality of work. The repairs in Abohar-Fazilka region are to be carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 460 lakh. Sub-divisional engineer Amarjit Singh Sharma told a team of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti that JCB machines have also been pressed into service to clean the berms as huge shrubs had grown up there. The spokesman for the Samiti Subhash Sehgal suggested that perforating pipes be used to fill the joints to prevent the pilferage of water. The team found that the lining had been badly damaged near RD 311 and other places, causing transit losses to the neighbouring Sriganganagar region. Sriganganagar Collector Shriram Chauradia has instructed officials to regulate the traffic towards Abohar during the construction of the bridge on Gang canal and install signals to avert mishaps. The Kisan Sangharsh Samiti has urged the government to tackle the rising of 9 headworks also as the difference in level of the canal bed and headworks would affect the smooth flow of water. |
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Abohar water works in shambles
Abohar, April 15 Gen Bhatt, former chief engineer Western Command and Colonel Commandant of the Bombay Sappers, told the BJP-run council to arrange funds for the construction of the wall by increasing sewage and water charges. Former city BJP president Shankar Swami told Gen Bhatt that thousands of consumers in Nai Abadi and its adjoining localities were being served contaminated water as due to leakage of water from damaged pipes at several terminals. Bhatt directed the council to set the things in order on a priority basis. He said a comprehensive report about the situation would be soon submitted to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary. — OC |
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Amogh Division distributes computers to schools
Muktsar, April 15 |
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To take up major repair and fresh lining work, Gang (Bikaner) canal, an irrigation system of canals laid down by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner in his princely state in the early 19th century, has been closed for 40 days. The project could not be taken up last year despite the closure as the state government could not process the tenders due to the code of conduct enforced ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections.
