11 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Affordable schooling should be top priority
The Telangana Private Schools and Junior Colleges Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Draft Bill 2025 has been referred to a sub-committee. The draft has sound provisions, with a state-level commission as the main regulator supported by district-level committees. Unfortunately, as the bill is pending, this year's admissions took place with up to 60 percent higher fees, especially in Hyderabad. As reported in this newspaper, even pre-primary fees are hovering around ₹1-2 lakh in several schools on the pretext of digital upgrades and campus expansions. Given that many of them do not have the matching facilities, one cannot but conclude that it is mostly about milking a lucrative business. Recently, the Delhi government brought in an ordinance to regulate fee hikes after vociferous protests from parents. Whether it is Delhi or Telangana, quick-fixes would not work. We need effective laws and even more effective implementation.
A glance at the numbers tells a sad story. Telangana has about 22,000 government and 15,000 private schools; but 34 lakh students study in the latter and only 24 lakh in the former. If you couple it with the fact that 2,097 schools had zero enrolment in 2023-24, you would get the picture. The belief that education is a business for making profit must not be allowed to hold sway over public consciousness. In 2004, the Supreme Court had said education is not for profiteering. But we see several elected representatives running for-profit educational institutions. This is a conflict of interest and is, perhaps, one of the reasons why so many government schools are in a sorry shape. Ambitious development targets cannot be achieved unless children in every part of a state can access good education. It should be our top priority.
