Activists slam ‘privatisation’ of civic schools

In a landmark decision likely to change the face of municipal education in the city, the civic standing committee on Wednesday cleared a proposal that calls for handing over the reins of the management of civic schools to private organisations, Poorvi Kulkarni reports.

In a landmark decision likely to change the face of municipal education in the city, the civic standing committee on Wednesday cleared a proposal that calls for handing over the reins of the management of civic schools to private organisations.

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While the civic body maintained that the aim was to upgrade the standard of education in civic schools which are in shambles, critics claim the policy has its own perils, and criticised it saying that it gives a back-door entry to privatisation.

Amid vehement opposition from members belonging to opposition parties, the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation passed the proposal with a majority vote. Members from the opposition tore the proposal papers and flung pieces of it in front of Rahul Shewale, standing committee chairman.

Asif Zakaria, Congress corporator, said: “There needs to be an audit of the few schools where public-private partnership is being practised before the drastic step of handing over all schools to private players is taken.”

Activists, who have been opposing the policy, stated that the civic body would soon lose control over its schools.

“Funds allocated by the BMC for education have only multiplied over the years. Going by the civic body’s abysmal record of monitoring the working of private agencies, it would soon lose control over its own schools,” said Nitin Wadhwani, member of Mumbaikars for Child Rights, a non-government organisation.

Additional municipal commissioner Mohan Adtani, however, maintained the policy is primarily meant to address the deteriorating condition of civic schools “It does not in any way mean the BMC would give away its ownership over its schools. All the major decisions with regard to schools will continue to be taken by the BMC,” said Adtani.