Education has become a business, under BJP rule- Selja
Chandigarh: The General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, former Union Minister, and Member of Parliament from Sirsa Kumari Selja said that the new academic session has started, and private school operators are openly exploiting parents, while the government watches helplessly. It seems as though the government has given a contract to private schools to loot parents. Parents, for the sake of their children’s future, remain silent. If the government had focused on improving the conditions of government schools, parents would not have been forced to face exploitation. In the game of commissions, the common man is suffering terribly, while the government is bent on turning education into a business.
In a statement released to the media, Kumari Selja said that as soon as the admission process begins in private schools, parent’s pockets start to lose money. Parents are forced to buy expensive books, notebooks, and school uniforms from specific stores prescribed by the school management. From nursery to class 8, they are spending around Rs 3,000 to Rs 7,000 on books and notebooks. Previously, the book seller’s address would be written on a slip, but now it is verbally communicated. The Education Department only issues letters to private school operators for the sake of formality, while everyone is in cahoots. Even if parents complain, no action has been taken against any school operator till date. In this situation, parents have no choice but to buy expensive books and stationery. When parents tell the shopkeeper the class and the name of the school, the bookstore operator provides the entire set of books and notebooks.
Kumari Selja said, according to Education Department rules, it is mandatory to use NCERT books, but private schools, in their quest to make more profit, get their own books published or use books published by private publishers in the schools. The MP said the publisher agrees to print a book worth Rs 100 at Rs 500, with 30% going to the school operators, 20% to the bookseller, and 15% spent on marketing. If the school operators insist, their commission increases to 40%. Additionally, every year the school operators get the publisher to change one or two chapters in the books so that students cannot reuse the old books. There is no such commission game with NCERT books; if the price is Rs 100, it is sold at that price. On the other hand, the cost of the nursery set (books and notebooks) is Rs 3,400, while the set for class 8 costs Rs 7,800. It is clear that the smaller the class, the higher the cost of books. Parents are psychologically pressured, with dreams shown about their children’s future. Kumari Selja demanded that the government take strict action in this regard, protect parents from exploitation, and improve the system of government schools, so that parents will not be forced to suffer at the hands of private school operators.
