RUPSA claims govt closing aided schools owing to low admissions

Bengaluru: The Registered Unaided Private Schools’ Management Association (RUPSA) has accused the government of shutting down private aided schools, citing reason that they have low admissions.

In a letter written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Association has condemned the closure of aided schools.

The Association has urged the chief minister to intervene and save the aided schools, which are providing education for thousands of children for a nominal fee.

Speaking about it, Lokesh Talikatte, president of the Association, said that when it comes to aided schools the School Education and Literacy department insists on minimum student strength and considers it as one of the main criteria for closure.

“Though there are single digit admissions in government schools, there is no action for closure, but when it comes to private aided schools, the department takes measures to close the school just because it is giving grants,” he said, adding that the government has not paid salaries for the teachers in some of the aided schools for the last four months,” Lokesh
alleged.

When contacted, a senior official of the department said that the closure of aided institutions is a long process and it cannot be done overnight.

“Yes, the closure of aided schools will be based on the student strength. Some schools were closed because of the retirement of teachers too.
In case of low admissions, we will shift students to neighboring schools and even teachers to the other aided institutions,” said the
official.

There are 7,330 aided institutions in the state with 50,000-plus teachers.
The state government pays for the salaries of teachers working with aided institutions and the pay is on par with those working in government-run schools.