Protests planned against proposed bills

Teachers to oppose changes to School Education Act

Teachers of private schools and parents will demonstrate outside the Delhi Assembly on Monday against the proposed legislation by the Delhi Government in the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.

This will be the second such protest outside the Assembly since the bills were introduced. The two amendments, dropping section 10 which ensures pay parity between teachers of private and government schools and enactment of fee regulation act, have met with resistance from the parents and teachers alike.

“Section 10 mandates that pay and others benefits of the employees of a recognised private school shall not be less than those paid to their counterparts working in government schools.

“The proposed amendment takes away the right to pay parity of the teaching and non-teaching staff of recognised private schools guaranteed to them earlier,” said Ashok Agarwal, National President of All India Parents Association, which will be holding the protest along with Private Schools’ Employees Association.

“Also, instead of controlling arbitrary fee hike by unaided private schools, it gives absolute powers to such schools to loot the hapless parents/students, in whatever way they like,” Agarwal said.

The teachers’ community has expressed disappointment over the move since the bill was introduced.

“The government had given an advertisement in the paper few days back justifying its plan. It had called the amendments ‘Aitihasic parivartan’, (historical change) though ‘aitihasic perversion’ would be more appropriate.

Teachers exploited
“The government expects the teachers to produce model citizens but this can’t be done if the teachers are left to be exploited. The standard of education will also come down as a lot of teachers will resign after this,” said Roohi Rahman, a teacher in Hamdard Public School. 

Section 10 (1) of the act, which the government proposes to delete, ensures equal salaries for private and government teachers.

According to the government, this change will put an end to the exploitation of teachers which are paid less than what is shown on paper.

However, expressing disappointment over the decision, the teachers have said that instead of putting an end, it will increase their exploitation.

Another move which has drawn flak by the parents and teachers is the enactment of Delhi School (Verification of Accounts and Refund of Excess Fee) Bill, 2015 under which a government appointed committee will verify the financial returns of the school and can direct it to refund any excess fee charged.

However, the move has been termed as “farce” by parents. “Through this the government cannot check the menace of exorbitant fee hike every year by private schools,” said a parent.

 “The bill pre-supposes that fee-hike by the private schools is per-se legal and valid, unless the same is challenged through a complaint and is set aside by the committee,” Agarwal said.