Though schools in both Government and private sector are established for quality education but in Jammu & Kashmir the private schools are being commercialised not only for making them profitable ventures for their proprietors but also using them as tools of business collaboration with the particular bookstalls and uniform shops. Collaboration of private schools with particular bookstalls and uniform shops of their own choice is a decades old practice never noticed by the School Education Department so for but fortunately it has attracted attention of the Government now. Not only purchase of books and uniforms but unprecedented hike in the bus fee enforced by private schools themselves immediately after the reopening of schools in March this year in the absence of a Chairman at FFRC too did not attract the attention of the Government. Though Justice (Retired) Muzaffar Hussain Athar the former Chairman Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC) during his two year term at FFRC regulated well the entire fee structure including bus fee at private schools but during short span of two months when FFRC remained headless after the completion of two year term by Justice (Retd) Athar most of the private schools have unprecedentedly hiked the bus fee without any consent or approval of FFRC in violation of the rules. Directing Private Schools to desist from decades old practice of asking parents to buy books and uniforms from the particular bookstalls and uniform shops is though a major relief to both the parents and as well as the students but yet another major issue yet to be noticed by the School Education Department for last several decades is the recruitment of teachers and disbursement of monthly salaries to them regularly after their appointments on the whims and wishes of the proprietors of private schools but not through a proper recruitment process. While allegations are galore that private schools don’t pay wages to teachers in time, the reports about private schools denying salaries to their teachers after their arbitrary terminations are appearing in newspapers besides going viral on social media sites from time to time.
Not only the issue of books and uniforms but the fee structure, the recruitment of teachers and their job protection and the availability of basis infrastructural facilities are the pressing issues deserving immediate attention and intervention of both the School Education Department and as well as the Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC).
While the enforcement of proper recruitment and wage policies for the private schools could be one time solution for regulating the recruitments of teachers and protecting their wage rights respectively in private schools, the quality education is virtually in existential crisis in the private schools most of whom particularly those established in semi-urban and rural areas of both Kashmir Valley and Jammu division run from rented accommodations lack even the basic infrastructural facilities. Ironically some of the private schools are running primary classes in one district and middle classes upto Class X in the adjoining districts due to lack of space accommodation at the main campuses at the cost of the financial and physical convenience of the students who pay more bus fee for travel to the adjoining districts and reach home late only to find no time for attending their home work in the evening. While Directorate of School Education does not cancel registration of such private schools, the J&K Board of School does not also cancel their affiliation due to lack of basic facilities to such schools . Not only the issue of books and uniforms but the fee structure, the recruitment of teachers and their job protection and the availability of basis infrastructural facilities are the pressing issues deserving immediate attention and intervention of both the School Education Department and as well as the Fee Fixation & Regulation Committee (FFRC).
