BJP government will bear the consequences for discrimination against children and private schools’ debt: Private school federation

CHANDIGARH: Having failed to have their grievances addressed by the Manohar Lal Khattar and Nayab Saini-led BJP government over the past ten years, a key body of private schools announced on Tuesday that it will use the political platform to press its demands.

Kulbhushan Sharma, State President of the Federation of Private Schools Welfare Association, hinted at a potential entry into the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections. He also criticized the BJP for alleged discrimination against students regarding scholarships.

Sharma said that the association will not tolerate any form of discrimination against students in schools recognized by the Haryana government and will fight for a discrimination-free Haryana.

He pointed out that a few days ago, Saini awarded Rs 1.11 lakh in scholarships to students who scored 90% in Class 12, which he welcomed as a positive initiative. However, he criticized the exclusion of students from private schools under the Haryana Board, calling it a deliberate discrimination between private and government school students. “It would have been better if the government had honored all meritorious students, regardless of their schools,” he added.

Sharma further noted that the government does not charge examination fees for students in government schools of the Haryana Board, while private school students are still charged. “During the Congress government’s tenure, no examination fee was charged from SC students. We have repeatedly demanded that the current government waive examination fees for SC students in private schools as well, but this has not been fulfilled,” he said.

The Federation is demanding that this discrimination be abolished immediately. Additionally, they are calling for the immediate release of payments under Section 134-A, the debt owed by the government to private schools, or they will hold the government accountable in the upcoming assembly elections.

Sharma mentioned that the Federation’s ultimatum for addressing its 55 demands expired on August 22. The Federation will now meet with Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda to present its case. “After this meeting, we will decide on entering the political fray,” he said.