Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Maharashtra government has asked schools in state to form alumni associations with an aim to rope in their support for improving the infrastructure and ancillary facilities of the institute and student development.
The government resolution (GR) in this regard was issued by the School Education and Sports Department on October 1.
These associations, common in many private schools and colleges, will now be formed by all Zila Parishad, Municipal Corporation, private aided and unaided schools.
The association will be tasked with organising reunions and gatherings and alumni members are expected to help improve the infrastructure quality of the school such as toilets, drinking water facility, painting, repairing, school beautification, playground, library, laboratories, and computers. In addition to financial help, the alumni will be expected to provide career guidance, competitive exam guidance, and educational materials to students. Art and cultural programmes and social initiatives such as tree plantations can also be conducted by the alumni for the current students of the school, the GR said.
As per the order, an alumni association committee will be formed by every school for the management of the association and it will meet at least two times a year.
The committee will comprise an elected president, vice-president, the headmaster/principal of the school as secretary, an elected treasurer, and members and advisory members. An online system of registration will also be created for former students to join. Any alumni who wishes to donate to a school would have to donate through this association to maintain financial transparency.
Dr Vasant Kalpande, educationist and former Director of Education of Maharashtra, described the move as a positive step. “I am in favour of this move. An increase in interactions with people outside the school, importantly stakeholders like alumni, is good. All good schools have relations with their former students. They might be working in various fields that can be helpful to the schools. They can help organise events and provide guidance to kids.”
On multiple occasions in the last few months, Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil has said that hiring of professors in state universities is struggling due to poor state finances and has recommended the use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for such hiring.
Educationist Mahendra Ganpule, however, was not supportive of the decision. “For many years such alumni associations have been working in various schools. But for the government to come out with a GR in this regard means that it wants to throw off its financial responsibility and expect that the public and former students carry it. The work of the headmaster will also increase as he has been made the secretary.”
Countering the argument, Kaplande said there is no decision that the financial onus has been put on the alumni. “The government or the school cannot make any compulsion for financial donations. If someone wants to donate willingly then there cannot be any issue in that,” Kaplande clarified.
