Nagpur: National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA), which represents over 60,000 private unaided schools across 22 states, said that the proposed New Education Policy (NEP) is being unfair to schools. A workshop was organized in Delhi on Monday by NISA to discuss issues related to NEP and offer solutions.
Calling out the government on the NEP draft, NISA's president Kulbhushan Sharma said, "Extending the powers of school management committees (SMC) is a direct assault on the freedom and autonomy of private unaided schools, effectively turning SMCs into an instrument of surveillance and control for the government. Traditionally, private schools have been exempt from SMC's under the RTE Act. The clause instituting SMCs across all schools is in direct violation of the TMA Pai Judgment, Article 19 of the constitution and the Society's Act of 1960." He added that such a move not only is likely to burden parents but will likely deter new edupreneurs from starting schools. "So many quality standards are enforced on a teacher but an SMC being constituted to give directives to these teachers and school owners have no delineated quality guidelines," said Sharma.
Echoing key demand emerging from the symposiums and consultations in several states across the country with key skate holders in education, NISA also demands the draft to be made available in recognised vernacular languages, to ensure inclusion and access to the common public.
Others present during the workshop included S Madhusudan, vice president, advocacy, NISA & president Hyderabad Telangana Recognized Schools Management Association (TRSMA); Tulasi Prasad, Vice President, Quality & State Chief Spokesperson, Andhra Pradesh Unaided Schools Management Association (APUSMA); Deepak Khaitan, Vice President, Initiatives & President, All Goa Government Recognized Unaided Schools Association (AGGRUSA) and Premchand Deswal, Treasurer, NISA & President Private Land Public Schools Association (PLPS); to reflect upon the discrepancies and shortfalls of the NEP Draft, put forth by the Ministry of Education.