Schoolgirl leads dharna against pvt publishers

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 28

For over three weeks, Nobel, a class IX student of St Soldier Public School, Mann Nagar, Jalandhar, has been protesting against the use of books by private publishers at private schools in the city.

Today, she was joined by activists of the Punjab Parents Association and they gheraoed the office of the DEO Secondary, Jalandhar. Nobel’s family members submitted a memorandum to the CM through the DEO (S) today.

Nobel had first brought the issue to the notice of the Jalandhar DC on April 8 and later followed it up with more complaints, but no action was taken by the district Education Department or the administration.

Then, instead of going to school on July 4, she started holding a dharna outside DEO (S) Harinder Pal’s office. Nobel continued her protest, braving fever and rain.

On July 12, BSP state president Avtar Singh Karimpuri visited the dharna site to offer solidarity to the cause.

Nobel’s father Hasan Soni said, “Nobel has been sitting on dharna for 25 days. Even after 200 complaints regarding admissions and hefty book prices from parents across the district, the government or education department has not taken any concrete action. We only want affordable education as per CBSE guidelines. These are being violated in the majority of private schools.”

“One of the enquiry officers – Deputy DEO Ranbir Swami — had instead advocated the use of private books. He had promised free books and fee exemption till class XII to Nobel if we withdraw the complaint,” Soni claimed.

Nobel and her family had submitted all her NCERT books (claiming these were not being taught at her school) and a recording of the Deputy DEO to the then HRD Minister Smriti Irani and also to the Divisional Commissioner on June 14.

DEO (Secondary) Harinder Pal said, “After complaints from Nobel and her family, we had changed the enquiry officer and deputed two principals to conduct it. The enquiry report that was submitted stated that students of the school gave in writing that they were not studying from books by private publishers.

“As far as the fee and book complaints by other parents are concerned, they have been forwarded to the regulatory authority through the DPI as we cannot independently initiate action against any school.

“The dharna is politically motivated and the girl is the only one from her school having a problem,” the DEO said.