'Govt will ensure merit is not sacrificed due to high cost in pvt schools'

The state government will ensure that merit is not sacrificed due to high cost of education in private schools, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday.

He said that he would sit with the authorities of private schools to discuss the matter. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will also be present in the meeting. It may be recalled that on Friday, the Chief Minister had mentioned in the Assembly about the high cost of education in private schools and asked Chatterjee to sit with their management while tabling The West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration Regulation and Transparency) Bill, 2017.

Chatterjee said: "We often find that the cost of education in private schools has been raised in such a way that meritorious students have to give up studies. We will talk to all quarters before taking any step." Political experts feel that after private hospitals, the Chief Minister will take up the high cost of education in private schools and colleges and address the issue.

Mamata Banerjee's concern over the high cost of education in private schools and her willingness to sit with those who run their administration has received appreciation from all walks of life.

Sumita Basu whose son goes to a well known school in Central Kolkata said that the admission fees in Class I is Rs 1.36 lakh and there is 20 per cent hike in the fees every year. Ananda Mukherjee, whose daughter is a student of Class IV in a renowned school, said that not only do the students have to buy uniforms and books from the school, but every year, a new dictionary and atlas have to be purchased as well. Mukherjee a software engineer said: "The buying of the dictionary and the atlas every year is a sheer waste of money. I tried to raise the matter in the parents-teacher meeting but had to drop the matter fearing pressure on my daughter by the teachers." He said that additional money had to be paid for the sports day and on annual concert. Anuradha Roy, a lawyer said: "It is really unfortunate that every year the students have to pay huge session fee.

Of course the school is giving good education but some sort of control is required," she said adding: "It should be probed how the missionary schools run by the Jesuit priests and Ramakrishna Mission give quality education at an affordable price."