Schools under scanner

The decision of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to withdraw its affiliation from a school in Guwahati and downgrade another in Barpeta district last week is not at all shocking. Parents of students going to various private schools affiliated with the CBSE across Assam definitely know that all is not well with the running and functioning of quite a number of such schools. Going by this, disaffiliation of the Guwahati school and downgrading the status of the school in Barpeta district look like only the tips of the iceberg, and a thorough investigation by an independent agency will definitely bring more such things to light. As reported by this newspaper in its Sunday edition, a nationwide inspection conducted by CBSE has brought to light the fact that some schools were committing various malpractices, like presenting dummy students, and were not maintaining records properly. As has been mentioned in the news report, setting up schools in Assam and the Northeastern region has become a very lucrative business, and many such schools have failed to adhere to the CBSE guidelines. What, however, must be kept in mind is that it is the bounden duty of CBSE itself to ensure, by various means, that a proper inquiry into schools applying for affiliation is carried out and then a mechanism be put in place to carry out inspections on a regular basis. If some schools have failed to maintain the laid-down standards, the CBSE should also take a portion of the blame for it. But while the CBSE’s decision has hit headlines, one should not be surprised if a proper inspection reveals that the majority of schools—be they private or government—affiliated with the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) are fit to be disaffiliated, if not shut down altogether. While a majority of such schools have been functioning with managing committees, a large number of such schools are also running without full-time principals and headmasters. Many do not have proper facilities like desks and benches, while toilets and drinking water facilities are also pathetic, if not non-existent altogether. There are inspectors of schools in every district, while similar officers also exist at the subdivision and block levels. But these officers hardly visit schools and are not known to be submitting regular reports to the government. There are also allegations of corruption in these offices. While the Education Minister is a learned person with a good public image, one does not understand what prevents him from making occasional surprise visits to schools when he travels to different districts on official tours. A dozen such sudden visits across the state by the Education Minister will not only shake up the system but also immensely benefit thousands of students.