Jaipur, March 9 (IANS) Thousands of students in Rajasthan are left confused as the private schools are openly flouting the government norms and pressuring students to take offline exams although the state government has issued orders to schools to give a choice to students for offline/online exams.
Around 2,500 such complaints have been registered in the last 10 days on a helpline number issued by an association “Abhibhavak Ekta Andolan” for such issues.
The organisation’s office bearers met the state education minister BD Kalla on Wednesday and submitted a memorandum to him.
Kalla assured of immediate action in this regard.
Earlier, the association members met the education officials and also staged a dharna with students but no action has been taken in this regard till date.
Meanwhile, Abhibhavak Ekta Andolan convenor Manish Vijayvergiya speaking to IANS alleged, “It is surprising to see the state education department keeping silent even as the schools are flouting orders. They are sitting as mute spectators despite being aware of the fact that their own department issued a circular on February 25 giving a choice to students to take either offline or online tests depending on their parents’ consent,” he said.
“We have been visiting schools to meet the principals and in return they are manhandling us, which is the worst case.”
The students who want to take the online tests are left in the lurch even after the intervention of the state education department. They have been awaiting the schools orders till late night but there is no clarity, he said and shared the students’ chats describing their plight.
As per Hari Om Singh Chaudhary, media coordinator, Abhibhavak Ekta Andolan, “the students of many private schools including Seedling Public School among others are left confused as the schools are asking them to come forward for offline tests when their parents have given consent for the online exams.”
Meanwhile Vijayvergiya demanded that the private schools implement the Fees Act 2016 as pronounced by the Supreme Court after forming the Parents Teachers Association in each school.
Speaking on the recent Rajasthan High Court judgement which asked the parents to pay the fees on time if they want their kids to study in school, he said that if the schools start implementing the SC ruling, parents will follow these High Court guidelines on their own and pay the fees on time. Around 99 per cent of the schools are flouting the SC directions regarding the implementation of the Fee Act 2016 and the formation of PTAs in all the schools and are charging enormous fees.
In this context, he shared a conversation of a student with the association where he alleged how a private school forced him to sit for two hours in the school over the non-payment of fees which left him embarrassed in front of his friends and teachers.
–IANS
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