We will not let Government shut any school in Delhi: NISA
New Delhi: National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA) has strongly condemned government’s order to discontinue all academic activities from the upcoming session in the unrecognised private schools across Delhi. Stirred by the suspect timing of this announcement, Mr Kulbhushan Sharma, National President, NISA; has called this move a disaster and an attack on the pursuits of the poor people who aim to provide quality education to their children. Enraged by this decision, Mr Sharma said that “the expansion of private institutions has created a parallel education system, a system that is now in danger. The litany of requirements under the Right to Education Act threatens to wipe out a mechanism that facilitates quality education to millions of children in the country.” Elucidating further, he laments that “today the marginalised and economically weaker sections are restricting their expenditure to ensure that they can provide a private school education to their children and are joyfully bypassing the temptations of free uniforms, free books and mid-day meals etc. provided by the government schools. But the administration wants to arrest their right to choose schools for their children and is engaged in efforts to shut down small schools by menacingly bringing up egalitarian demands on infrastructure and licensing of such schools under the RTE”.
Reminding the promises made by the government, he mentions how “Mr Manish Sisodia, Education Minister of Delhi; had assured to resolve the problem of budget private schools and issued a mandate of constituting a committee to be led by Mr Yogesh Pratap Singh on June 16, 2017, for the same. This committee was assigned the task of preparing a report on the possibility of legalising non-recognized schools. But, according to the information received by the Right to Information (RTI), the Directorate seems unaware of any such mandate or committee. Thus, instead of waiting for the report of the committee and granting recognition to schools, instructions to close educational activities in such schools appear to be an ill-fated attempt to divert attention from the actual issue of abysmal pre-board results of government schools.”
Announcing the convening of a ‘Maha Dharna’ (mass protest) on April 7, 2018 in Ramlila Maidan on issues related to the schools, Mr Sharma reiterates that “NISA will not let government shut any schools in Delhi and all possible steps will be taken against this move to protect the rights of parents, children and owners of BPS.”