Pvt schools told to keep seats for poor

PATNA -- With the Common School System (CSS) approved by the state cabinet, private schools in Bihar applying for a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) accreditation will now have to reserve 25 per cent of the seats for poor students.
In a landmark decision, the government has introduced the system of making private schools available to students who cannot afford to pay. A source said, "Already 25 schools have agreed to this clause. We will make their names public next week. We hope to make all private schools realise their social obligation and provide free education to poor students." Even though the draft Right to Education Bill has dropped the clause making it compulsory for private schools to keep 25 per cent of the seats free, the state government is sure of getting private schools to contribute. Among the many tasks of the three-member commission, headed by former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey formed to implement the CSS, the foremost is to recommend ways and means to give effect to right to education under Article 21 (A) of the Constitution. "Right to education became a fundamental right in December 2002. According to its spirit, there should not be two sets of rights, one for poor students and another for rich students. Just as all citizens go to the same kind of polling booth to cast their vote and the same police station to register a complaint children, irrespective of their financial background, should have access to the same type of education," an official said. Human resource development secretary and education commissioner M M Jha said, the CSS would strive towards a neighbourhood school concept which is prevalent in many developed countries and even in China. "These schools will be equipped with basic facilities and will give all children quality education," he said and added that government schools would be upgraded so that the quality of teaching is on the par with that in private schools. Explaining the implications of not having CSS, an official said: "The existing system of education seems to be impacting the quality of governance and growth of corruption. The seeds of superiority, hierarchy and insensitivity against people are sown at a very early age in the existing school system in India."