State to set up edu panel for redressal of plaints against private schools

Kolkata: The state government is setting up an Education Commission for addressing issues of arbitrary fee hikes and similar complaints of irregularities, state Education minister Bratya Basu said in the Assembly on Tuesday.

He stated: "Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her concern time and again over the exorbitant fees charged by a section of schools."

Maintaining that some private schools have not abided by the regulations, the minister said: "There have been instances when these schools have not abided by certain regulations which they are supposed to do. I have spoken to the Chief Minister and we are setting up an education commission similar to the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission. It will be headed by a retired Chief Justice."

He added that the Cabinet had already approved the establishment of the education commission and the process to set it up has begun.

"We are presently in the process of setting up the commission and a notification will come out in due course," Basu said in response to a query at the state Assembly.

The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission set up in the year 2017 addresses issues of huge bills and other irregularities associated with a section of private hospitals.

The state Education department had also taken up the initiative of reviving several Sanskrit institutions popularly known as 'tols' spanned across the state. Such institutions situated in Nabadwip will open soon.

"Our government gives special emphasis to Sanskrit education as it is the root of several languages. We are identifying Sanskrit institutions across the state that have closed down during the Left Front regime and making efforts to reopen them and bring them under the aegis of the Sanskrit College & University (SCU)."

The total number of 'tols' currently, is over 400 with over 500 teachers. The state government hands over a stipend every month to the teachers of the 'tols' so that they do not suffer from a financial crisis.

Interestingly, the transformation of Sanskrit College into the Sanskrit College and University was done by the Mamata Banerjee-led government through a legislative Act in 2015 and it started its journey as a university in June 2016.