In reverse trend, govt schools back in favour

At least 50,000 children studying in smaller private schools have been moved to government schools by their parents this year, according to Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, reports Swaha Sahoo.

At least 50,000 children studying in smaller private schools have been moved to government schools by their parents this year, according to Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.

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The minister said the reverse trend is due to improvement in both infrastructure and teaching at government schools that gave them excellent results in the Board exams.

“We have been inundated with requests from parents who want to transfer their children from smaller public schools to our schools,” said Lovely said.

“The rush is so much that in order to accommodate all the students, the government has sanctioned Rs 200 crore to increase infrastructure in 250 existing schools,” Lovely said.

In 2007, the enrollment number stood at 30,000 as compared to 1.2 lakh students this year — a jump by four times.

“The majority of students were enrolled in Classes VI and above and most came from private schools in Delhi and NCR,” said Rina Ray, education secretary.

The demand was highest for the 15 Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas, which cater to 13,000 students. “Second come the Sarvodayas which begin from Class I,” said Lovely.

Sanju Sharma, who shifted his daughter to a government school, said: “We kept reading about how government school students were doing well in CBSE. Moreover, government schools charge much less.”