Punjab govt failed to extend helping hand to private schools during lockdown: AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has held the Capt Amarinder Singh government responsible for problems faced by the students, managements
Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has held the Capt Amarinder Singh government responsible for problems faced by the students, managements, members of the staff of private schools in the state fighting financial straits, triggered by the national lockdown imposed across the country.
They also wanted the Chief Minister to make it public where a whopping amount of Rs 650 crore ‘reserve fund’ collected from private schools toward security/fees etc had been squandered away, since the government had failed to provide financial assistance to private schools during the lockdown period, which was why they were exerting pressure on parents to pay their wards’ school fees.
Principal Budhram and Prof Baljinder Kaur slammed both the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla, saying “What to speak of extending any financial or other aid to the parents of lakhs of students studying in the private schools in the state during these two and half months of the extended lockdown, they had not spared even 5 minutes to share the trauma they were subjected to undergo.
They alleged that due to insensitive stance of the government, managements of private schools were pressuring the parents for paying off fees of their wards, citing reasons to pay to their staff for the lockdown period.
Sarabjit Kaur Manuke and Baldev Singh demanded to make public the details of the reserve funds to the tune of Rs 650 crore collected by the government from private schools towards security, alleging misappropriation of the funds, like the billions of rupees on account of pre and post-matric scholarships paid to Dalit students.
The AAP MLAs said that if the Education Minister had persuaded the government to release the reserve funds to private schools, besides paying 50 per cent of the salaries and other reliefs to their staff, the private schools management would not have exerted pressure on the parents to pay the fees.