Open House: What should the state government do to streamline the purchase of books and uniforms?

There must be a panel of vendors for books

Many private schools are allegedly compelling children and their parents to buy books, uniforms and other necessary items from specific shops at higher rates. Despite repetitive orders by the Punjab government to refrain from such practice, private schools are flouting the orders with impunity by not adhering to the fee cap, and by keeping the books and uniforms at particular shops impelling the parents to buy these from there. The aim of these so-called public schools is not to impart quality education but to mint money. The government should take a strict action against them as per the rules. Parents and students should be free to buy books, stationery and uniforms from any shop of their choice. A school uniform instills a sense of discipline and community feeling but it should be affordable. The government should help in finding vendors who can provide good quality uniforms, books and stationery at nominal, reasonable rates. There should be a panel of school vendors with their complete addresses from where to buy books and uniforms. Better if only schools recommend the cloth type or shade and parents are allowed to get the uniform stitched them. In the absence of any regulation, the unholy nexus of most private schools having tie-ups with books and uniforms shops is continuing to fleece the parents. Schools adroitly prescribe exclusive books to create monopoly because of which the business of omission and commission has been thriving much to the chagrin of the parents. Nothing is impossible if the government has the willpower to streamline the purchase of books and uniforms. All private schools were directed by the Education Department not to coerce parents to purchase books and uniforms from particular shops but of little avail. Now it has ordered all private schools to display a list of twenty shops dealing in books and uniforms to allow parents to have the option for buying these items from any of the prescribed shops. The schools violating these orders should be taken to task.

Tarsem S Bumrah

School items should be available in surplus

To streamline the purchase of books and uniforms, first of all the government should ensure adequate supply of these. They should be available in surplus in all shops so that any sort of demand could be catered to. Secondly, nominal rates for all books and uniforms should be fixed for all by the government. Anybody found guilty of charging excess should be punished. Last but not the least separate cell of government officials should be appointed who would be solely responsible for resolving grievances of parents at the earliest.

SANJAY CHAWLA

Unjust to expect everything overnight

Punjab Government’s order to private schools is against forcing students to purchase books and uniforms from specified shops only. The purpose was to save parents from paying monopolised pricing. How has it put them at the receiving end? If the books and uniforms are not available in the Bazaar at the moment, they can still purchase them from the school shops as in the past. Though after the government order, traders won’t take much time in filling the markets with books and uniforms. Neither a government effort in this regard is required nor should it be expected. Education is being sold like other commodities to the purchasers who are willing to pay the demanded price. The government has no business dictating the terms of other’s business. Punjab government is promise-bound not to just improve the state’s education infrastructure but to totally transform it for functional excellence. No piece-meal measures or interference in prevalent private educational institutions will suffice. Not even a month old, the new state government must be given the required time to act on its promises. It would be unjust to expect everything overnight.

Hira Sharma

Make all books available online

With regard to school uniform, a government notification should be issued making it mandatory for every school to prescribe only plain colour uniforms. Basically, the purpose behind colour uniform for all students is to avoid discrimination in young mind about rich and poor family background of the students. This is also going to give a big push to the ladies doing stitching job from their home. In regard to books a prescribed set of books for different classes on all the subjects should be made available on the internet. So that parents can have a particular book photocopied from the market if same is not available in the form of a hard copy. Now, it is for present day regime to act.

Naresh Johar

Why NCERT books are not prescribed?

The case of school books and uniforms is only a Red Herring. As per news published in these columns and orders of the DPI, every school is now required to display names and addresses of up to 20 shops from where the prescribed books or uniforms can be purchased. In fact, storing or stocking of all the books in all subjects for all classes is not an easy proposition for small shops. There are jobs in it. Moreover, we should not ignore the fact that children outgrow their uniform (or other clothes) very fast. The real issues are quality education and quality health services. An analogy would not be out of place. Doctors often prescribe trade-name tablets and syrups which are not easily available elsewhere. Generic medicines are way cheaper. Similarly, the books. I wonder why standard NCERT publications are not prescribed by all schools when the examining board is the same though the problem of availability will still remain. On the other hand, even the most well-written materials get wasted in the hands of ill equipped teachers resulting in the phenomenon of private tuitions thus denying the students availability of time needed for extra study and games. Teacher’s manuals remain unused. But why blame the grossly under paid teachers who are worried all the time to catch the bus? Huge chains of private schools have come up as a result of high fees and funds on the face of small salaries but no parent has ever complained against it. Managements charge fees and funds for the vacation but deny the vacation salary to many teachers thus adding to their own coffers. They draw salary cheques for a higher amount but issue the same only after receiving half the cash from the payee. The plain fact is that education is big business and politicians are deeply involved in it.

PROF MOHAN SINGH

Depute inspection teams to ensure compliance

Amid complaints against private schools that compel parents to buy uniforms, bags, books and other necessary items from designated shops only, the Education Department should take a serious note of this practice. It has to be ensured that the parents are not subjected to pressure tacts by the school management, so the government needs to keep a regular watch on the offending private schools. Managements of private schools should consider the economic situation of parents and fix a reasonable rate of the items. Private schools’ managements shouldn’t go overboard with the price of uniforms, so that everyone can afford them. Parents need to continually raise issue before the District Education Department officials if they are forced to buy school items like books, uniforms, shoes and stationary etc. at very much inflated rates from the designated shops only. Officials must ensure that their instructions to the unaided institutes for publishing the names, addresses and mobile numbers of the nearby shops where the prescribed books and uniforms are available, are strictly followed in letter and spirit. It has been noticed that some schools are in the habit of changing their school uniforms designs quite often, in such cases the old uniforms with the students should also be allowed at least for few more sessions. district education officials should send some inspection teams to ensure the strict compliance with the guidelines and orders issued by the Punjab government. Heavy fines and withdrawal of recognition to the offending school’s management will go a long way in addressing the parents’ complaints in this regard.

MS Khokhar

Govt decision a welcome move

To end the monopoly of private schools in the erratic pricing of books and uniforms, the state government gave the liberty to parents to purchase the same from any place of their choice and convenience. It’s indeed a welcome change for the stakeholders. There is nothing wrong in making the books and uniforms available in school promises for sale, provided that it’s not made a compulsion. The parents should be given the liberty to purchase either the full material or the limited one which they need. Whether from school or market, all the items should be sold loose instead of packs or sets so that parents can buy only those which they require. Also, the government should keep a check on the private schools that no specific book shop owners should get associated with them on commission basis. This will help to sort out this issue.

Aradhana Singh

Make it mandatory for schools to issue bills

The Punjab Government must set threshold rates of standard books and uniforms that are sold by private schools and no school shall be allowed to sell higher than these rates. It should be made mandatory for schools to issue bills to parents so that the dubious practice of avoiding taxes can be eliminated. ‘Voice of Amritsar’ is a very famous group on Facebook where many posts are published by parents requesting or giving books to other people. A common platform can be launched by the government where people can interchange books or uniforms as per their needs, so that cost-effectiveness is maintained and wastage of paper is reduced.

Jatinderpal Singh Batth

Check exploitation of school staff

It’s good and wise decision of the government to ban the private schools from asking the parents of the children to buy books and uniforms from a specific shop. They should be allowed to buy their books from any of the book stores that are available in the market. By asking about a specific shop is a mere exploitation of the parents of the children. Already the Central Government is raising the prices of fuel, cooking gas and other food items. All the agencies are trying to suck the blood of the people in one way or the other. Why can’t the state government publish the books and stationery from its own printing press so that the people are spared from the exploitation by the private vendors? In the US, Canada and Europe the public schools are the government schools where the fees are less and others are private schools by different institutions. In India, it is the other way round. Public schools are in the private hands and in the hands of different institutions like DAV and Khalsa schools. Not only that, the so called public schools exploited the teachers also by appointing them on minimum salaries. Only some reputed public schools give good salaries to their staff. The state government should also check this exploitation of the staff of the public schools by their management. It will be a big relief to the staff, students and their parents.

JS Wadhwa

Take action against wilful violations

The various decisions taken by the newly-formed AAP government in Punjab so far for revamping the existing education system have elicited a widespread public approval. Post complaints from parents, it first issued orders to cap school fee hike beyond eight per cent. Now, its latest decision on the monopolised sale of books, stationery and uniforms, is also a step in the right direction as it will save students and parents from open harassment and fleecing. No doubt, it has created problems for them in the initial stages as these items are not available with local vendors in the open markets. Earlier, private school managements were actively involved in forcing parents to buy these only from designated shops which charged exorbitant rates. The schools are being asked to identify and display list of 20 shops in cities having MCs which will sell stationery and uniforms at prescribed rates. If the government is strict in enforcing its orders and takes stern action against any wilful violations, this noble initiative is sure to win public applause and favour.

DS Kang

Welcome move but came bit late

I welcome the government’s decision and I think it is truly justified. But I think it was issued quite late. As a result, local vendors had limited stock of books and uniforms. I think if the government makes sure that their monopoly is implemented every year then the vendors will also be prepared with their stock in surplus amount and parents or students won’t be facing any such problem.

Arpan Arora

QUESTION

Given the state’s debt-ridden condition, the Aam Aadmi Party government has offered 300 units of free power to its consumers, but what impact will it have on the state’s economy? Has the decision been taken in the right earnest? Will it hit development works and allocation to other sectors?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (April 21)