Tuesday, 11 April 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
In a scathing criticism of the manner in which the education department is functioning, the former Education minister Arvind Pandey has said that the Chief Education Officers (CEOs) of Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar and Nainital should be suspended for failing to implement the compulsion of the books of National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT) in the schools falling under their jurisdiction.
The former minister said that apart from this at least 15 Block Education Officers (BEOs) should also be suspended in the State. He said that the Uttarakhand government had made it compulsory for all the schools to prescribe only the books of NCERT. He said that these books are very good, cheap and help in fulfilling the objective of quality education. “The complaints are coming that some schools are not following the orders on compulsion of NCERT books. This shows a clear laxity on part of some officers and schools and it is bringing a bad name to our government,’’ he said.
Pandey added that he has directed the district magistrate of Udham Singh Nagar to take action on the complaints of parents. The former minister also said that he would hold interaction with the director general of school education on the issue.
The diatribe of the former Education minister comes at a time when the parents of the children studying in the private schools are suffering from an open loot of the schools. In open defiance of the regulations these schools are prescribing the books of private publishers. These books are very expensive and have questionable quality and content.
The parents allege that there exists a nexus between the private school owners and the publishers. On the basis of the student strength in a school the publishers offer the commission percentage and also offer a hefty amount as an advance to the private school owners. The schools give their nod to the books of that publisher who offers the best deal. After the deal with the publishers the school owners tie up with the book shop owners. The book shop owners are also keen to strike a deal with the schools as it gives them a big client base and readymade customers. It is pertinent to mention here that the former education minister tried hard to rein in the private schools during his tenure and worked to bring a regulation act for them.
