Govt move to run Mandi Atal vidyalaya in PPP mode opposed

Dipender Manta

Mandi, July 16

The state government’s move to run Atal Adarsh Vidyalaya at Marhi in Dharampur subdivision of Mandi district in the public private partnership (PPP) mode has attracted widespread opposition.

Expression of interest invited

• The state government has issued a notice inviting the expression of interest to run Atal Adarsh Vidyalayas in Una and Mandi districts in the PPP mode
• This move has drawn criticism from various quarters, which demand that the schools should remain under government control
• The BJP is also opposing the decision of the state government to privatise Atal Adarsh Vidyalaya at Marhi in Mandi

The government has issued a notice inviting the expression of interest to run these schools in Una and Mandi districts in the PPP mode. This move has drawn criticism from various quarters, including local organisations, which demand that the schools should remain under government control.

Bhupender Singh, former Zila Parishad member, said that the move of the state government was not acceptable and it should run the school under its control.

He said that the auction of this school built at a cost of Rs 50 crore and slated to run in the PPP mode was scheduled in Shimla on July 24. He lamented that local children, who were previously attending Government Senior Secondary School, Marhi, were displaced during the tenure of the previous BJP government for the construction of Atal Adarsh Vidyalya building, forcing them to shift to rented accommodation. The old school building was forcibly shut without the department approval and no alternative arrangements for construction were made.

“The tate government and the Dharampur MLA have heightened the concerns by deciding to sell this residential school, built at a cost of Rs 50 crore each. This will directly affect the futures of children hailing from poor families,” he remarked.

The BJP is also opposing the decision of the state government to privatise Atal Adarsh Vidyalaya at Marhi in Mandi. A meeting was held yesterday under the leadership of Dharampur mandal BJP president Lekhraj at Dharampur, in which Rajat Thakur, media coordinator for the state BJP, along with Vandana Guleria and Jagdish Chand Bitta, members of the Mandi Zila parishad, expressed resentment against the move.

The District Magistrate of Dharampur has been petitioned by local BJP leaders through a memorandum, urging the government to reconsider its decision and continue operating these schools under government administration. The memorandum emphasised that these schools were established by previous governments with substantial public funding, aimed at fulfilling educational aspirations of local children and communities. Privatisation would dash these hopes and adversely affect both students and the local populace.

BJP mandal secretary Surender Thakur and other local residents present in the meeting reiterated the community’s strong opposition, threatening civil unrest if the government went ahead with its plan.

An official of Elementary Education Department stated that this was for the first time that the state government was trying to run Atal Adarsh Vidyalayas in the state on PPP mode.