RIGHT TO EDUCATION - THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN DHARNA

ALL INDIA PARENTS ASSOCIATION
Agarwal Bhawan, G T Road, Tis Hazari, Delhi-110 054 Tel:9811101923,9717278279

PRESS RELEASE

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE PARTICIPATE IN MASS PROTEST RALLY AND DHARNA OUTSIDE RAJGHAT ON SUNDAY MORNING

NEW DELHI, 9 October: Thousands of people from all walks of life, which included a large number of women and children, took part in a mass rally and dharna outside Rajghat to protest against the arbitrary school fee hike in private schools in Delhi and other parts of the country.

The protest rally was organised by the All India Parents Association (AIPA), the apex parents body which was formed following the arbitrary fee hike undertaken by private schools on the pretext of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations.

Speaking at the rally, social activist and AIPA national president, Mr Ashok Agarwal stressed the need to reform the school education in the country. Mr Agarwal sought the enactment of a Central law to regulate the fees and other charges in unaided private schools all across the country as well as a resolution by all the State Assemblies in support of the same.

There was also an urgent need to remove the disparities between various government schools, he said, and all government run schools should at least be brought to the level of Kendriya Viidyalayas (Central Schools).

The other demands of the All India Parents Association include the initiation of criminal proceedings against the 25 erring private school in the Capital who are inducted by the CAG recently.

The AIPA has also written a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh recently seeking an effective central law to check arbitrary fee hike in unaided private schools as well as for upgrading all government schools to the level of central schools.

Counsel the student than to take punitive action against him – Delhi HC told school

In a case where 13 year old Mohan, a class X student of St. Gregorios School in Dwarka along with three of his classmates were handed over Transfer Certificates after four months they were indulged in “friendly banter” with a girl in their classroom, Delhi High Court initially by an interim order dated May 05, 2010 and subsequently by final order dated 17.08.2011 has allowed the student to continue his studies in the school. However, the High Court on one hand directed the father of the student to take care to see that his child does not indulge into any act of misbehavior so that the atmosphere of the school is not vitiated in any manner and on the other hand directed the school authority to counsel the child than to take any punitive action against him.

The school’s allegation against all these four students was that they told their classmate that “if she married one Shanker Raman (a South Indian boy in their class), she will be busy making dosa and idli etc. Then they changed their opinion and told her that another classmate Rakhi Sahni ( a Punjabi boy) is best suited for her and then she will have a hard life making rotis. On girl’s complaint, the school said their comments were “abusive and vulgar”.

While the other three boys quietly accepted the TC and left the school, Mohan’s father Paramjit Singh challenged the expulsion and his lawyer Ashok Agarwal told Justice Kailash Gambhir that the “school clearly over-reached by taking the extreme step and ruining his career in the name of enforcing discipline”. He said even it was assured that the student used abusive language, the school, instead of ruining his career, should have given him counseling. Mr. Aggarwal also submitted that it was also in violation of the Delhi School Education Rules, which says disciplinary measures such as fine, expulsion or rustication cannot be taken against a student below 14 years.

Finding merit in the argument, Justice Gambhir by interim orders dated May 05, 2010 stayed the expulsion and directed the school to admit Mohan into Class IX.

FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION REFORMS - 09 Oct 2011 DHARNA AT RAJGHAT

BE READY TO PARTICIPATE IN DHARNA ON SUNDAY 09 OCTOBER 2011 AT RAJGHAT FOR REFORMS IN SCHOOL EDUCATION – aipa extended core committee has today decided to hold a peaceful Dharna on Sunday 09.10.2011 at RAJGHAT from 10 am to 6 pm demanding (i) Upgradation of all Govt Schools all over the country to the level of Central Schools, (ii) Enactment of a Central Law to Regulate Fees in Unaided Private Schools, (iii) Resolutions by all State Assemblies in favour of the Bringing Central law to Regulate Fees in Unaided Private Schools and (iv) Initiation of criminal action against the all the unaided schools having been indicted by the recent ‘CAG Report on top 25 unaided schools’.

WHAT WE MEAN BY "CORRUPTION" - A DEBATE

A DEBATE - Oxford Dictionary defines “Corruption” as Dishonest or Illegal behavior, especially of people in authority. This may be one angle to view “Corruption”. A section of people in the society may have amassed the entire wealth of the country legally leaving the majority to poverty. Is it not a “Corruption”? In my humble submission, “Corruption” needs to be seen and understood in terms of the Constitutional philosophy of ‘egalitarian society’. Article 38 of the Constitution mandates the State to strive to minimize the inequalities in income, and endeavor to eliminate in status, facilities and opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations. Therefore, the guiding factors to track and to check the menace of “Corruption” must be none other than the Constitution of India.

CORRUPT HAS ALSO A RIGHT TO FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION FOR THE BENEFIT OF NEXT GENERATION

I may be corrupt and not honest but still I have a right to fight against corruption. After all, I have inherited corruption from the Corrupt System prevalent in society. How can I alone be blamed for it? Shri Anna Hazare is no exception. At least my next generation will be benefited by my fight against corruption.

Don't forget my dear that the laws are made to benefit corrupt people. How can you fight corruption in terms of these laws? Now the Government is citing laws to frustrate the peaceful and non-violent movement by Shri Anna Hazare. ‘Emergency’ was also imposed in 1976 by law and sadly, the Supreme Court upheld the same.

THRASHED BY THE SCHOOL TEACHER, DELHI STUDENTS REACHED JAIPUR

Two male students aged 11 and 12 years of Model School, Azadpur, Delhi were beaten up by the class teacher on 03.08.2011. Fearing that they would be thrashed by the parents, they decided to go to Bihar (Home Town) but accidentally they boarded the train for Jaipur and reached Jaipur Railway Station. Around 10 pm, one Mr. Tiwari noticed these children and after listening their story, he took them with him and with the help of my friend and social activist Vijay Goel produced these students today before the CWC, Jaipur which sent them to a government children home. Around 2 pm I got a telephone call from Mr. Vijay Goel (9460387130) informing me that these students are carrying a school bag containing school name as Model School, New Delhi. I immediately come in contact with the Missing Children Cell of Delhi Police and informed them about the incident. After some time, I got a call from Head Constable Satya Prakash informing me that he has checked up the police record and so far there is no missing complaint regarding these children. He also told me that P.S. Adarsh Nagar has been asked to find out the school and collect required information about these children.

SPEAK TRUTH AND FACE THRASHES FROM PEERS – SCHOOL EDUCATES STUDENTS

On visit to schools, finding physical conditions in poor shape and hygiene can fill one with anger. But when one sees how the children have become so conditioned to acting against their own best interests and instead are serving the interests of others – in fact they are serving the interests of the very people who are responsible for the poor state of their schools – then one becomes very depressed and despairing indeed.

The other day, on visit to MCD Primary School, Old Seelampur, Delhi on July 30, 2011, one shift had ended and another of boy students was starting. The second shift of class 5 came in. I casually asked one boy – ‘do you sweep the classroom?’ Other boys quickly crowded around the boy to whom I had asked the question. They answered “No sir, our teacher is very good, we are never made to clean the room.” All the others added words to show agreement with him. One innocent boy added – ‘when we were in Class IV we were made to clean every day – but now we don’t have to”. The poor chap had inadvertently let the cat out of the bag. I turned away to leave. Suddenly I looked back and found that all the other boys had gathered together and were beating up the boy who had given away the truth.

Is it not bad enough that the children have to put up with unhygienic toilets, holes in roofs and dirty classrooms, but why do they have to protect those who are responsible for this state of affairs – to the extent of turning against one of their own? Who has terrorized them so much? The teachers? In fact the teachers should unite with students to complain about their dirty classrooms. Why don’t they? Whose interests are the teachers serving? Are they terrorized too? Of whom? Why are they sacred to speak the truth? This subservient mentality, when will it go? We will rain blow on each other, we may even kill each other but we will fear to offend ‘the masters’. If this is the mind-set that the next generation is learning in our schools – will we ever be independent? Will things ever change?

AshokAgarwal, Advocate

01.08.2011

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