Education institutions continue to defy norms over games fund

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 15

The struggle of the Department of Youth Service and Sports (DYSS), Jammu, to collect 50 per cent school games fund from educational institutions continues as a majority of schools have not deposited the mandatory fees for the academic session 2014-15.

As per the data available, out of the total 2,511 schools in Jammu district, including 1,528 government and 983 private schools, only 231 have deposited the games fund. Out of these, 129 are government schools, while 102 are private.

The educational institutions have to deposit 50 per cent of the school games fund in the district pool of the District Youth Services Office for purchasing sports material and uniforms for students competing in the district and inter-district-level competitions.

“We are preparing a list of all the schools, including government and private, which have not deposited the games fund till now,” said Sukhdev Raj, District Youth Services and Sports Officer (DYSSO), Jammu.

“The ongoing academic session will get over on March 31 and before that we have to submit the list of educational institutions to the Chief Education Officer (CEO) in Jammu. Various notifications have been issued by the department from time to time to inform the institutions in advance, but there is hardly any improvement as a majority of private schools are adamant on their stance not to deposit games fund,” he said.

As per the government order, every school has to pay Re 1 per month for each student of Classes to I to V, Rs 2 per month for Classes VI to VIII, Rs 3 per month for Classes IX to XII and degree colleges and Rs 5 per month for each student of professional colleges to participate in competitions organised by the DYSS.

“The educational institutions which are not depositing the games fund in the district pool, their students will not be allowed to participate in the competitions at different levels. We are keeping a close eye on the number of institutions that have deposited the games fund. The schools which will not deposit the funds will be dealt with strictly,” said a DYSS official.