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Why is taming private schools not enough for the AAP government?
The recent media blitz and the setting up of the complaint cell for parents of school going students seem like politically motivated moves to systematically appease the middle class. Though these moves are commendable, they do not attack the root –the rot in the government school setup.
Sunday newspapers in the capital were splashed with full page advertisements by the AAP government beating its chest and making a show of how they have tamed some of the most powerful private schools. Here are samples of some of the headlines you may have read:
Four schools roll back fees in 15 days
Government’s tough stand emboldens parents against private schools
Govt prepares to take over two branches of Maxfort School
Special cell for complaint against private schools
The body of the article followed the same theme with slight variations: the Arvind Kejriwal government has taken a tough position on private schools and the obstinate lot has yielded under pressure. The ad also speaks about a complaint cell specially setup to enable parents to complain about such schools [the ones involved in charging excessive fees].’ The response to it has been overwhelming. ‘The cell has received as many as 800 complaints within 4 days of becoming functional,’ the advertisement says.
The government’s PR machinery’s intention is obvious. It wants to be seen responsive to the problems of the citizens, particularly the middle class. This chunk of the voting class has slowly become disenchanted with Kejriwal and his government. While the decisions on water and electricity fronts have helped the AAP cement its loyalty among the lower income segments, the middle class required some convincing visible action to be impressed. Rising school fees is a big concern for this class. It is not a surprise then that the government has taken this issue up rigorously.
Punishing or penalising these private schools is not the solution to the real problem in the school education sector. These private schools have flourished only because of the deteriorating quality of government schools provided them with an opportunity to fulfil the demand for quality education. Unfortunately, government schools have declined to the point where parents don’t even consider them as an option for education of children. The reasons are way too many, ranging from infrastructure to the nature of education provided to the quality of teachers all have contributed to this sorry state of affairs. It has led to a situation of scarcity which naturally some private players will try and exploit to the hilt.
Painting them as villains is not the solution. It would be rather unfair to do so as they are providing a critical service to people. If they have a higher asking price for their service, this could be due to the higher quality of output doled out.
Unless government schools are considered on par with private schools in terms of quality and respectability things will remain the same. Now that is a massive gap to cover because decades of apathy has caused this rot and it can’t be wished away overnight.
While its laudatory that the AAP government has made high budgetary allocation (almost 13%) for the purpose and is thinking seriously about teacher training to ensure quality, but speed is of the essence here. It has to come with the proposed model schools besides the planned upgradation of regular schools to model ones fast.
The newspaper ads may have been released to reassure parents that the government is on their side but it would be better if the government informed the voting public at regular intervals where its own schools stand in the scheme of things.