Govt to monitor functioning of private schools in state, says Partha

Kolkata: The state government will now monitor the functioning of various private schools in Bengal.

In reply to a question raised by Opposition leader Abdul Mannan, the state Education minister Partha Chatterjee said in the Assembly that many private schools are being operated on the basis of Central affiliation only and they are not obtaining the no-objection certificate from the state Education department.

In some cases, it was found that the licences for running the schools had been issued against one person but they are being run by another. There were some irregularities in these private schools and they are under the scanner of the state government.

The government will not allow these private schools to run without the proper no-objection certificate.

"Private schools are mushrooming in various parts of the state. We are looking into the functioning of these schools. We will look into the matter of how these private schools are being operated," Chatterjee told the Assembly on Monday.

It may be mentioned here that the state government has already taken a tough stand against some private schools for their arbitrary fee hike.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also held a meeting with senior officials of

the private schools in the state in June 2017, urging them to consider their hefty fee structure.

Banerjee had also called for the formation of a self-regulatory committee with representation from some top private schools of the city, along with the School Education department secretary, Director General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, to monitor various aspects related to the schools, including fee hike and donation issues.

She also asked the private school authorities to make the whole process of functioning transparent and also urged them not to increase the tuition fees arbitrarily every year.