The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Aided schools set to regain footing

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Aided schools set to regain footing

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: Recent decision by the Director of School Education to fill up vacancies in aided schools through District Selection Committee brings a much-needed reprieve for the 350 government-aided schools in the city struggling for survival. The decision taken at a meeting with the representatives of Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Guild will not only help the schools regain a footing, but also rein-in greed of the managements.

Government aided schools, set up decades ago with the lofty ideal of spreading education among the masses, are on the verge of closure due to apathy of successive governments as well as trustees. Better version of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), these schools offered education to poor students on a par with the government schools for many years. However, they gradually lost their sheen after a ban on granting new aid, followed by a moratorium on recruitments. While many aided schools have been closed down, quite a few are suffering loss of strength in terms of staff and hence, students.

“Aided schools received grant-in-aid from government for payment of salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff. Encouraged by this, many people volunteered to form trusts and run schools in various localities. However, since 1996, government has stopped grant-in-aid for new schools, and from 2004, there has been a ban on recruitments,” said P.Indrajit, city General Secretary of the United Teachers Federation.

Looking for support

As a result, of the 434 schools in twin cities, only about 350 remain now, he says. Hit by shortage of staff and discouraging environment, these too are hobbling for support. For a total 4,574 teaching posts sanctioned for the aided schools in the city, only 1,800 teachers remain now. Various schools run under the trusteeship of Vivek Vardhini Education Society amply illustrate the present status. The century-old trust had to close down three upper primary schools.

“Only 18 teachers exist for the four high schools and two upper primary schools running under the society. Saraswathi Pathshala at Nallakunta was merged with Dr.Davare Upper Primary School which has only two teachers running the show. Within two years, the remaining teachers too will retire, forcing the schools to shut down,” says Subrahmanya Sarma, a teacher from the Vivek Vardhini institutions.

Trustees of a few aided schools are allegedly colluding to close down the schools in order to usurp the sites, taking the disinterest of government as a pretext to do so. Mr. Indrajit cites one instance where a 50-year-old school at Bahadurpura was closed down despite having 16 teachers and 450 students.

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