GR affects girls

AHMEDABAD, Oct 12: Primary schools not availing of grants could charge fees from girl students, the state government has decided, going a...

AHMEDABAD, Oct 12: Primary schools not availing of grants could charge fees from girl students, the state government has decided, going against its avowed objective of providing free education to girls.

A government resolution GR to this effect dated August 28 was protested by the Council for Social Justice in a dharna staged at Lal Darwaja on Sunday. The city-based organisation says the resolution would discourage education of girls, besides freeing the schools of restrictions like reservation of some jobs for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Class candidates.

Schools doing without government grants will be allowed to set fees for students and salaries for staff without seeking permission from the district education officer DEO. Nor do they need to seek permission for class strength.

Moreover, they need not submit to government audits of accounts. All they need submit to is academic inspections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP government seems to have done a volte face with the resolution, for the very same policy had been strongly opposed by the party when the Rashtriya Janata Party government had issued a similar GR in May 1997.

The RJP government had removed the restriction of reservation, recruitment rules, fee liberty, recruitment of staff and class strength but it had stopped short of removing free education for girls. Valjibhai Patel, secretary of the council, said that Education Minister Anandiben Patel herself being a woman and at the helm of affairs of the education department had dealt girls education a great blow.

Also with the restriction removed on tuition fees, schools are free to charge any amount of fees. This could lead to an explosive situation, what with parents already up in arms due to escalating costs of education, he said.

Anandiben Patel could not be contacted for her comment.

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Last year, when the Shankersinh Vaghela government tried to implement the resolution they were stopped with a writ petition by the council and the government had to withdraw the resolution. Later the high court disposed of the petition.

But this year, the BJP government has come up with a resolution which goes even a step further, despite the fact that they had protested and agitated when RJP tried to implement the same. This despite the fact that the present government says it is avowed to the cause of women8217;s education.

An official in the education department, on terms of anonymity, said people did not want to open schools without grants; while those accepting grants were unwilling to submit to several rules.