PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION OPPOSES MAHA’S MORNING SCHOOL DECISION

The Maharashtra State Parents’ Association has gone aggressive in its opposition to the Right to Education (RTE) Act amendment insisting on all schools in the state starting after 9 am, and has accused the government of muddying the educational environment in the state by issuing such orders. While the state government should have taken school operators, the school transport committee, parents’ associations, and transporters into confidence while taking the decision, it did not do so according to the association.

Dilip Singh Vishwakarma, president, Maharashtra State Parents’ Association, said, “The benefit of the government decision will be less while the loss will be more. Due to this decision, more financial burden will fall on the parents. Has the government even considered the financial burden on parents? The decision will adversely affect parents across the state. The government is just issuing order upon order and forcing the administration to implement. This is a very infuriating and unfortunate thing to happen.”

“This government needs to reflect on its education policy. We have demanded immediate withdrawal of the order on compulsory schooling after 9 am and changes in the Right to Education (RTE) Act,” he said.

Recently, the state government instructed all schools in Maharashtra to start after 9 am; a decision that was met with widespread opposition. Santosh Karale, a school bus operator, said, “Our buses run at different timings for schools that begin in the morning and afternoon. If all schools start after 9 am, we will need to add more buses for which we will have to charge the parents higher fees. Practically too, it is not possible to monitor all the buses at the same time so it is better to have two different slots for schools (morning and afternoon).”

Dipali Sardeshmukh, president, Maharashtra State Student-Parent-Teacher Federation, Pune, said, “Parents and students are facing a double dilemma regarding RTE admission. Private schools, however, have been given a convenient loophole. Also, the new order of starting school after 9 am has not been accepted by most schools in the state. It will change the entire schedule of the schools and there won’t be any solution for it.”

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2024-04-23T23:53:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd