Vested interests painting a picture of alleged harassment just to bring government into disrepute over it’s actions on fee regulation forget the irrefutable fact that government is custodian of the rights of it’s citizen and henceforth very rightly intervenes in the working of private schools who for all practical purposes are service providers to the people and henceforth the people of Jammu & Kashmir. Some leader of a private schools association of the country questioning the J&K Government’s right to intervene in the working of private schools of Jammu & Kashmir during an event in Srinagar shows his complete ignorance about the government’s right to control over public accountability system in all states and union territories of the country. Irrefutable fact is that Government does not regulate only fee structure of private schools but it also regulates the fee structure of diagnostic tests at private testing laboratories and oversees the overall working of diagnostic laboratories also. While the fact remains that diagnostic facilities being an inalienable part of basic healthcare system was not shut or suspended during more than two year long pandemic period because of it’s direct connection with the health of people but schools were shut because of the irrefutable fact that health comes first and education next to many secondary basic public services desired and demanded by the people in only periods of normalcy. So question can be asked that if diagnostic labs working even in the periods of pandemic are not questioning the intervention of the government over their regulation and check on fee structure mechanisms, how come the private schools are raising questions over the government’s right of intervention on regulation of their fee structure and other mechanism of routine working. For all practical purposes the government intervention can’t be questioned in private socio-economic sectors directly connected with the delivery of basic social services like healthcare, education, travel and tourism, transportation and trade and business as the intervention is the only way to curb exploitation of people in the name of basic social services whether provided by the government or the private players.
Private schools being the services providers to the people cease the right to question the government’s intervention as they can’t be run without recognition of the school education department and affiliation with the J&K Or Central Board Of Education in any part of Jammu & Kashmir. After all accountability of private schools is an inalienable part of public accountability system in Jammu & Kashmir as it is so in all the states and union territories of the country.
Though privatisation is taking roots in almost every sphere of socio-economic activity across the country but government’s right of intervention remains unquestioned even in the matters of the delivery of basic social services by private players as public accountability is by all standards of understandabilities the domain of only government but not any private player. Never forget that institutions whether run by government or private players work under some established laws, procedures and practices designed, drafted and approved by the legislature and as such the government exercises the power and authority to intervene even in the working of private institutions established with the purpose of providing one or the other basic social service to the people. Private schools being the services providers to the people cease the right to question the government’s intervention as they can’t be run without recognition of the school education department and affiliation with the J&K Or Central Board Of Education in any part of Jammu & Kashmir. After all accountability of private schools is an inalienable part of public accountability system in Jammu & Kashmir as it is so in all the states and union territories of the country.
