Mushtaq Ahmand Wani, Srinagar District President of Private Schools Association Kashmir, shares the concerns and the achievements of the private schools in an exclusive interview with The Legitimate.
How did the Association come into being?
The Association came into being in 1970 and till date it is doing its best to educate Kashmir. In first few years we faced difficulties, but then the association with the help of its hard working and dedicated persons worked to uplift education. The Association is exclusively trying to work for the betterment of society and education of children.
How satisfied are you with the working of Association?
Private School Association Kashmir aims to upgrade standards of education and we are interested in all round development of students. This time more than 3000 private schools are affiliated with the Association, which provides employment to over 2 lakh people in the valley. I am very well gratified and inspired with this Association. Over 6 lakh students are presently enrolled in 3000 private schools in the valley. The aim of private schools is help the government to improve on education front. We are here to supplement government efforts in their efforts to upgrade the education system of valley.
What is the number of schools under your supervision?
Nearly 200 private schools in Srinagar district are directly working under my supervision with the enrolment of more than 40 thousand students and employee strength of over 13 thousand.
Will you provide insight into the educational development in private schools?
Though private school teachers are not PhD holders but what they deliver has positive and successful outcome on the performance of the children level. All private schools are supposed to teach syllabus provided by State board of school education.
We do teach some extra subjects like Islamic studies, Moral studies, Arabic. However, some schools teach more than these subjects which we have seen during our inspection and the Association has raised strong objection to this.
Parents need to be more vigilant in ensuring the accountability of their children. We shall not also expect miracles from the schools unless there is a government support. We can’t upgrade the education system by our own, although we do provide the best. The purpose of education has now expanded. We too need to upgrade the system by modernizing the education system. Stocking the libraries with books and providing computer education, physical education to children is a must.
Is the performance of private schools satisfactory in rendering physical education?
Government does not provide us any support to provide physical education to students. The Sports departments only prefer few educational institutions for participating in various sports activities by sending them a personal letter. Jammu and Kashmir youth service and sports department does conduct sports activities of their preferred schools only. But we go for scouting, conduct indoor and outdoor games and other sports events on our own.
Tell us about the Infrastructure of private schools?
It is good as per the infrastructure conditions laid down by the government. But there is still scope for improvement. Government has already outlined the need for infrastructure in the SRO-123.
Do government empower private schools?
Government creates hurdles and distractions in our way. It has done nothing to empower the private schools till date. Instead it creates problems in smooth functioning of these educational institutions.
What are the issues faced by the private schools?
Private schools face number of problems and most of these are from govt side, biggest hurdle is SRO-123 issued by the government for private schools. SRO-123 governs the infrastructure and other basic requirements cum facilities in schools. As per the SRO-123 private school must have; one Principal’s room with 100 sq meter area, one staff room with 100 sq meter area, multi-purpose educational laboratory with an area of 150 sq meters. No private school in the valley can afford this. We need to get the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from almost every department. Whether it is SMC, R&B, or the Labour department, the departments demand bribe for providing NOC. The govt. doesn’t care for the education in private schools. Private schools are barred from fee hike and there are other regulations we have to face.
What are your demands to the Government?
Association has demanded from the government that the procedure of getting the NOC should be simplified or annulled. Government can do inquiry of whatever they need at the schools and the clearances should be made hassle free. Also the education act 2002 is not compatible to private schools and should be revoked. Government should check and inspect the basic performance of children and compare the excellence of private schools with government schools and examine the result of government schools as well as of private schools. Recently we came across the incident that 8th class student of government school was not even able to write basic English. The performance of the government schools needs to be improved and government shall appreciate the role of private schools in improving education standards.
Private school education is considered best; do you still feel students need tuitions?
Nowadays, students do not need tuitions and other extra classes as we do provide and give our 100 per cent. It has become a craze and fashion to go to the tuitions, otherwise there is no need, tuitions do not benefit children either. A child is taught by five to ten teachers during the day in the school instead of a single tutor. I suggest tuitions are just wastage of time and money by students.
Do tuitions affect daily attendance in schools?
Yes, mostly as we see students prefer to go back home rather than to school. Main purpose is schooling, and it is not a healthy thing to prefer tuition centres over schools. Parents need to take care of this serious issue. Private schools have a much more discipline and accountability. And after all we provide the best to children.
The interview first appeared in the print edition of April 20.
