‘We want to restore people’s faith in government schools’

Arvind Pandey, state minister for school education, in a wide-ranging interview with Shivani Saxena, claimed that there would be ‘visible changes in the deteriorating education scenario in the state in a year's time’ and his immediate priority is ‘to restore people’s faith in government schools.’ Excerpts:
After you took over as minister for school education, you said that your priority will be to overhaul the deteriorating condition of state-owned schools.How do you plan to do that?
We have prepared an action plan regarding this for the next one year. In 70 % government schools of the state, currently there is lack of furniture in all classes. I intend to make sure this is addressed -- at least in classes 1 to 6 -- within a year’s time. Many schools have no arrangements for drinking water or even school uniforms and we are collaborating with organisations including NGOs to contribute funds under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to address these issues. I am happy to share that till now, we have not spent a single penny from the state government’s funds but instead raised almost Rs 100 crore from corporate firms through their CSR funds. Our priority is to restore people’s faith in government schools.
What other changes are planned to be introduced in government schools and the education department?
We always had English as a subject in schools but often students had trouble in the subject. To make students more comfortable with the language, from this session itself, Science subjects will be taught in English. School students will also be dedicatedly taught about computer usage. Students will not only get uniforms and NCERT books but also proper mid-day meals. I want to make the department corruption-free and we are taking necessary steps in this regard, particularly for the Mid-Day Meals (MDM) scheme. A centralised kitchen through ISKCON’s “Akshaya Patra” will be started in four districts of the state within a year including Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital. A survey for the remaining hill arreas is going on currently.
There have been protests by various teaching groups throughout the past year. These protests eat into the time a teacher spends in teaching. What are you doing to address this?
Yes, this has remained a problem area in the past. But I am going to be very strict about it and set accountability at different levels. Like if someone has a problem at the block level, the block level officer should be approached and not anybody else. Officials will be held accountable if they take issues lightly. Only grave matters should reach the education directorate.
Recently you announced that the state government will have a say in deciding fee-structure and limiting it to a certain extent from the next academic session. Some hailed it as a step in the right direction to curb the alleged hegemony of private schools. if you really are serious about it, why can’t this be done this year? Also, is the private school regulatory act in the pipeline?
I strongly feel that education must not be commercialised and studying in even private schools should be affordable for all, but having said that, I feel the private schools should themselves come forward to co-operate and make education affordable. The private school regulatory draft is ready and will be discussed in the coming months before it comes into force as an act.
There are often complaints about the corruption prevalent in the transfer of teachers. Do you plan to make amendments in the transfer policy or are you planning to bring a transfer act?
Corruption in teachers’ transfer will not be allowed any further. Only those with genuine concerns like a disability or a major health issue will be considered on request. We also have plans to bring a transfer act in the near future.
The issue of guest teachers has been prolonging for a long time and now they have got respite of only two more months before they lose their jobs. What is the education department doing for them?
We respect the court’s orders but we will try and work out something so that the almost 5000-6000 of these guest teachers are not left unemployed. We might request the court or will try to find some other way out for them.