No funds, 150 night schools struggle to stay afloat…..Dipti Sonawala
Over 30,000 students studying at around 150 night schools across the city are facing an uncertain future as their schools are on the verge of closure. The school managements complain that in the absence of funds and non-salary grants from the state government, they are unable to run the schools.
The schools are functioning on rented premises in BMC schools and in the absence of funds and non-salary grants by the government, they find it difficult to pay the rent. The managements and staff of these schools along with the education cell of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have now sought help from Mayor Sunil Prabhu.
Dr Manisha Kayande, in-charge of BJP’s education cell, said after she received complains from teachers of these night schools, she visited 90 schools out of the total 150 schools in the city and found that they were functioning in poor conditions.
The managements and teachers of the schools complained that as the night schools were not considered as part of the mainstream schools they are neglected. They do not get enough funds and the salaries of teachers are very low, said Kayande.
She added that nearly 50 schools have failed to pay the rent for the past six years as a result of which they owe Rs 28 lakh to the BMC. We have requested the Mayor to get the amount waived as there was no guarantee of the government disbursing non-salary grant, said Kayande
The day schools function for six hours, but we get only three hours and so we are unable to complete the same syllabus and hence require more time. We have requested the Mayor to look in the issue and help us provide better facilities to our students. We have also written to the Mayor requesting him to provide better facilities to the students and provide additional space to the students in the form of a study room for preparation for exams, said a principal of one school.
The Mayor assured the delegation that the issues faced by night schools would be looked into. We will try to help these schools, however the outstanding amount cannot be waived off. We will try to work out some other way to resolve the matter, said a senior official from the BMC education department.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-funds-150-night-schools-struggle-to-stay-afloat/940656/0