Govt’s decision to allow PPP in Education opposed

BHUBANESWAR: “Education and health is a basic duty of the Government and therefore it should not be handed over to private players,” said the experts attending a workshop on ‘Public Private Partnership in Education’ organised by the National Coalition for Education (NCE) in collaboration with Odisha RTE Forum and All Utkal Primary Teachers Federation here on Saturday.

Opposing the PPP in education, former State Finance Minister Panchanan Kanungo argued that the State Government is shifting its responsibility in many cases. Still now, most of the people in the State are living in miserable condition and they could not afford their children to go private schools, Kanungo said, adding, education and health sector should not be shifted to private players or corporate houses.

Explaining on the issue, national convener of NCE Dr Ramakant Rai said that the State Government has completed all the formalities to start schools in PPP mode and the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) had identified three predominantly tribal districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Rayagada for the project. The private partners of the model schools would look after almost all matters from faculty to management, he added.

“This is very much paradoxical to the RTE Act 2009 as the proposed schools will collect nominal fees from the students and the schools proprietors will be out of any public scanner,” Rai said. On the other hand, where tribal children drop out has increased up to 60 per cent in tribal dominated district due to lack of learning material in their own languages, how does the Government thinks to open English medium public schools in such places, questioned Rai.

Among others, Rajnagar MLA Alekh Jena, RTE Forum Convener Anil Pradhan and members of civil society organizations and educationists were present.