Private schools angry, will appeal
Private schools reacts sharply to the recommendations of the Ganguly Committee accepted by the HC, reports Anuradha Mukherjee.
Private schools in the city reacted sharply to the recommendations of the Ganguly Committee accepted by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. They said the recommendations amounted to ending the autonomy of private unaided schools.
At a meeting of the Action Committee of Schools — an umbrella body — on Tuesday evening, it was decided that the schools' concerns should be put before the court on November 3. "The role of schools has been reduced to zero. The child will stay with us for 13 years, but we cannot even decide what background he comes from. You can say that there should be no corruption and no capitation fee can be demanded, but the autonomy of private unaided schools cannot be withdrawn," said SK Bhattacharya, president of the Action Committee of Schools.
Bhattacharya said the 20 points allocated to schools left scope for manipulations.
He said the schools would take a joint decision on the matter after the NPSC schools meet on Wednesday.
Others felt that the criteria laid down by the committee gave a clear edge to certain categories. "A child from a highly educated family settled in south Delhi will have an edge over the others which is not entirely fair as several localities do not have quality schools," said Usha Ram, principal, Laxman Public School.
But members of the Ganguly Committee defend their decision. They say conducting admissions on the basis of neighbourhood scheme will promote excellence across the board. "There is no question of compromising the autonomy of schools as they have 20 points in their kitty which they can use. Besides, this will give smaller schools where no one wants to go an opportunity to develop excellence," said Shayama Chona, principal, DPS (RK Puram), who was a panelist on the committee.
