This story is from February 18, 2008

Food for thought

Pragya Kaushika / TNN / Feb 18, 2008, 05:38 IST

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National Progressive Schools (NPS), an association of around 7,000 schools affiliated to different boards in the country, recently held a two-day event reviewing the relationships of schools and boards.

National Progressive Schools (NPS), an association of around 7,000 schools affiliated to different boards in the country, recently held a two-day event reviewing the relationships of schools and boards, and the freedom of schools versus the control of a board.
Of the hundreds of principals and administrators that gathered, most discussed the relevance of the present curriculum and the recent controversial policy of levying 14% service tax on 'unaided schools' that is yet to be approved by the government.
Damodar Prasad Goyal, president, Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan, pointed out that the unaided schools in India provide employment to over one lakh people and constitute a major chunk of the country's schools. While opposing the service tax, Goyal added: "Being unaided does not mean that we are not serving the society. We must constitute a core committee to represent our case to the Prime Minister and to those responsible. We need to strike a bargain."
Speaking about the contractual relation with the boards, one of the officials present stated that the boards are important for any education system but they should not enjoy excessive power over schools. "Many circulars served to schools appear to have no logic behind them whatsoever. The board does not rely on the schools for its decision making processes, leaving behind those who are eventually affected by their policies," added S D Jain, director, Modern School - Faridabad.
According to Puran Chand, member, NPS, "Flexibility in curriculum is inevitable but we must take into account its implications as well. With increasing use of technology in daily life, school students must be exposed to relevant technologies. Our curriculum fails to provide adequate motivation for the learners."

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