A wake up call to check the uncontrolled fee structures of Private school
Govt. should support
- Imphal Times Editorial :: May 25 2018 -

When talks about improvement on the status of the Government High School is going around, it was most unfortunate that only two teachers including a Head master was present yesterday at Kamu Ching Govt. Junior High School which is located about 35 Km from Imphal, under Kangpokpi district in Saikul Assembly constituency.

7 teachers are reportedly allotted to the school and without attending the school they are enjoying their salary leaving the school as a playground for the students.

What is more worrying is that almost all government school located at the interior part of the state is no different from what was witnessed at Kamu Ching Govt. Junior High School.

Affairs of Government schools are always in the public domain not for better performance but for lack of teachers, bad infrastructures etc., etc..

State Education Minister’s assurances to improve the condition of the government schools is still a blatant lie to the people of the state as nothing impressive is seen.

Transfer of teachers, promotions, regularization seems to be what the Education Ministry is showing interest as of now.

Moreover, surprise visit to government schools by the Minister himself is also another priority of the Education Minister, yet except for suspension of those teachers found dereliction duty.

No, extreme measures had ever been taken up which means there is something unseen going on as it takes only few months for revocation of the suspension order.

Well the present state of the government schools in the state is one reason for all parents to prefer on Private Schools.

Teachers of government schools enjoyed more salary than those of the private schools but the low paid private school teachers produced more number of better students than those of the government schools.

This is a fact. It is for this reason that we can’t blame the parents for sending their children to private schools.

Taking this advantage of the weakness of the parents, Private schools decide the fee structures as according to their will as the government so far as not imposed any strictures about the limitation that a private school can collect from their students.

For one reason or another these private schools also sometimes collect extra fee on certain occasion and students are compelled to pay any demand as they fear action – either directly or indirectly which may affect their career.

When fees are increased parents are the one who suffered most. Every parents want their wards to the best and with the condition of the government schools (except some in city area) .

They paid whatever demanded by the private schools as they do not want their children to be ill-treated by the school authority.

Even a layman knows what is being happened in the education sectors of the school.

Those in the government know better on why the parents sent their wards to private schools.

However, the government authority still have not taken up any concrete work by formulating some system for improvement of the government schools neither they check the private schools.

It is their duty to look to establish some system to check the fee structures, school campus among others.

In the last state assembly session, the Education Minister introduced and passed the Private School and Coaching center regulation Bill.

The Bill is to check the quality of the mushrooming private schools in the state.

Whether the Bill has come into force or not, nothing of such is seen taken up from the government side so far.

It is fortunate that Manipur have many students’ bodies and civil society body which always initiated something to check the wrong in the society.

It is right time that the students’ body Socialist Students Union Manpur, (SSUM) is organising a meeting of all private schools to fix a fee structures to lift down the burden of the parents.

The government should also support such an initiative and appreciate the student body by even sending their representatives to such meeting.